Black Widow Spiders

[Tuesday Afternoon]

[denbot]

1. There should be an option for Garage Overlords.

Super strong webs.. Yikes!!!

[Tuesday Afternoon]

2. how long do they live?

:shrug: :hi:

[madeline_con]

49. According to wikianswers, about 3 years. n/t

[XemaSab]

19. Definitely garage overlords

Last year one of them caught a snake in the garage. :o

[LeftyFingerPop]

3. It is not a pet if you can't rub its belly.

[rrneck]

4. No truer words were ever said. nt

[Tuesday Afternoon]

5. but, can I put it in a jar and keep it...

I think I will call her Mary.....

[AlienGirl]

6. What a beauty!

If you're really lucy, she'll be gravid already; it's the right time of year for that!

Tucker

[Brother Buzz]

18. Yes, you can keep her in a jar.

We kept one in mason jay in the kitchen for more than two years (we're not sure when she died because we thought she was just taking a long snooze). Caught live flies and placed them in the jar. When the population dropped, we'd add more. She laid eggs but no young hatched (unmated?). We never thought to name our girl.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

25. I've got one of those big pickle jars. I think she will like it...

It will look kind of like this:

[Brother Buzz]

31. Perfect, our was small but our girl never complained

She preferred a small stick to hang out on, it's also what she suspended her egg sack from.

[Arkansas Granny]

34. I am of the same opinion. If you have to keep it in a jar and can't pet it

you have a science project, not a pet.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

35. Mary Science Project! Her full name, thanks!

:D

[ZombieHorde]

7. My wife and I used to keep spiders and scorpions as pets.

I never got the hang of handling scorpions, I always scared them. Scorpions are more difficult than spiders.

One of our spiders was a African Orange Starburst Tarantula. He was super aggressive, one time I opened his tank so I could do a little cleaning and he flipped himself over and tried to grab my hand. "Holy shit!" He was insane, we saw him attack invisible foes on more than one occasion, just like some cats. They are very handsome spiders, but they are scary and not for people new to keeping arachnids as pets. He was the only arachnid we never handled. I imagine a Black Widow would be a similar type of spider. I voted "Pet".

[Tuesday Afternoon]

9. damn! look at the smiley face on him! cool.

:hi:

[begin_within]

8. There's now a Brown Widow spider in California

accidentally imported by someone who moved from Florida, it seems to be becoming a lot more prevalent than black widows. It's poisonous too, though not deadly, it can inflict severe pain and cause a great deal of distress, especially to smaller or weaker people. This is becoming more of a danger in California than Black Widows are because of its greater population. One more thing to worry about! Yikes.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

11. would that be like the brown recluse?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Recluse_Spider

brown recluse spider or violin spider, Loxosceles reclusa, is a well-known member of the family Sicariidae (formerly placed in a family "Loxoscelidae").

It is usually between 6–20 mm (¼ in and ¾ in), but may grow larger. It is brown and sometimes an almost deep yellow color and usually has markings on the dorsal side of its cephalothorax, with a black line coming from it that looks like a violin with the neck of the violin pointing to the rear of the spider, resulting in the nicknames fiddleback spider, brown fiddler or violin spider.

[begin_within]

14. Well, it's not the same thing as brown recluse.

Brown widow is Latrodectus geometricus.
"Black widow" is several other species of Latrodectus, varying by region.
Brown recluse is Loxosceles reclusa as you noted. It seems to be almost unknown in California.

Brown widow has made significant gains in California in the last 5 years or so, before 2002 it was almost unknown in California, but was well-established in Florida. There is speculation that someone moving from Florida to California uknowingly brought it with them in their patio furniture or something. I am pretty scared of all spiders so I'm dreading this new one. I believe I saw one the other day at a neighbor's house.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

29. interesting. thanks.

don't be afraid to be scared :) :hug:

[begin_within]

45. One way to identify them is by their webs

While many spiders spin webs that are elegant, symmetrical and look almost machine-made, both black widows and brown widows make webs that are very haphazard, with the strings going in random directions - no apparent rhyme or reason to it. And their webs are tough and resilient compared to most spider webs. So if you see that type of web, steer clear or be ready with the spray.

[Jennicut]

10. I have serious arachnophobia. I am shaking while typing this.

Eww, yuck...eek!

[Tuesday Afternoon]

12. I know. They are kind of icky...in a cool sort of way.

:hug: :hi:

[NNadir]

13. Man, I got a nasty spider bite will chopping wood about two years ago.

My hand swelled up like a balloon and I couldn't type for days.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

36. woah. Did you go to the doctor? what kind of spider?

that had to be uncomfortable and scary.

[NNadir]

40. I went to the doctor. I can't remember what he gave me for it.

I do recall it very painful, even after the swelling went down. I worried about getting permanent arthritis.

I recovered fully however, thankfully.

I don't know what kind of spider it was, but we have brown recluses here and they frequently nest in wood piles. I suspect that's what it was. I have seen them around here in the woods.

[chknltl]

15. It's a potential downside to having a goth for a boy/girlfriend!

[Tuesday Afternoon]

32. I could go Goth.

:)

[armyowalgreens]

16. I once stuck my hand into a black widow nest by accident.

I was trying to unravel the grill cover.

For some reason, none of them bit me. I now consider myself the leader of black widows and I can summon them to do my bidding at any time.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

28. funny. that black widow would have a man for a leader. ironic, even.

:D :thumbsup:

[Mugu]

17. My very first attempt at photo stacking with a tiny little Wolf spider.

This guy was no bigger than 3/8" and it took 19 photos to make this rotten image.

[armyowalgreens]

20. When you gaze into the spider, the spider also gazes into you...

:scared:

[woo me with science]

21. That's an amazing pic!

I have never seen a spider's eyes up close before!

[Tuesday Afternoon]

22. damn

:o

[Moondog]

23. You must lead an interesting life.

How do you come up with this stuff, anyway?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

24. I don't know

:shrug:

left alone to my own devices, maybe.

[Moondog]

26. Don't take it the wrong way.

This AM I was checking out last nights DU action, and I was struck by the depth and breadth of your topics for OPs. It was meant as a compliment. Tone is a difficult thing to capture in writing.

Gotta go - the pork has been in the smoker since about 10 last night, and it's about time to take it out. ttyl

[Tuesday Afternoon]

27. The barbecue, right. You guys have fun.

You should post pics.

[Eyerish]

30. Why did I click on this one!!!

:cry: :scared:

To me, all spiders = Satan's Minions

But you obviously like them, so I hope you enjoy Mary :hi:

[Tuesday Afternoon]

33. with an Avatar like that...one would think you would dig the spider

:D :hi:

[Eyerish]

46. Yeah I know, I'm odd...

:rofl:
I LOVE Halloween and everything that comes with it, except for spiders. I know it's completely irrational, but damn they freak me out.

[Roon]

37. I have been bit by a widder before

Was not fun.

[susanr516]

38. I once spent about 4 hours in the ER with my Dad

After he was bitten by a black widow hiding in the wood pile. You're right; no fun at all.

[Roon]

41. I went to the ER too

Spent some time there, nothing much they can do about it..as long as you're not having an allergic reaction.

[Deja Q]

39. Biggest nemesis to Electrawoman and Dynagirl - evah!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxXWNVP09dc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mV-WVuYw0ic

[Jacobair]

42. A co-worker was watering her yard, when a black widow

climbed off of the hose and bit her on the arm.
I was surprised to hear her say the docs simply called in a prescription for antibiotics.
I figured it was an ER trip for sure. But I guess the amount of venom injected is so little.
Those things fricken creep me out.

I remember going into the backyard at night through the side garage door and walked right into a web. Out of my peripheral vision, I could see an object scamper quickly down the web and into hiding. When I turned on the light, I noticed it was a huge black widow. I hit it with WD40, brake fluid, windex and something else before it FINALLY fell to the ground so I could step on it. Gross. I hate spiders.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

43. Anything that eats mosquitos is my friend!

[quakerboy]

44. They gave me a new way to check my pulse

One bit me when I was about 8. Now I have a large blood vessel at that spot where I can check my pulse at.

What kind of predator would provide me an adaptive advantage? Obviously they are neither pet nor predator, they are a medical device.

[JNelson6563]

47. Horrifying.

Truly.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

48. if you want to see truly horrifying go check out GD

[JNelson6563]

50. Very true.

Still, I'd face 1000 GDs over one of those scary lookin' creatures any day. Just sayin'. :scared:

Julie