The Black Widow Spider is, characteristically, a non-aggressive spider. It will, however, attack to defend itself or its young. The female has a red hourglass-shaped mark on its abdomen, and the male usually has light streaks along its abdomen.

Kingdom: Animalia

Common Name:
Black Widow Spider

Scientific Name: Latrodectus mactans

Taxonomy:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Family: Theridiiae
Genus: Latrodectus
Species: mactans

Natural Range
Black Widows live in the warm areas of the world and are found almost everywhere in the United States. They tend to spin their webs in warm, dark places, such as under wood piles and houses.

Interesting Facts
The female spider can lay up to 900 eggs at one time and is known to eat her male partner after mating. Males, in fact, are hardly ever seen by humans and have a harmless bite.

Links
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The Black Widow Spider and CLHS

The reclusive black widow spider is found on the CLHS campus. Since its preferred home is a warm, dark place, the black widow can be seen behind the modulars and under rocks and bushes on campus. One was even found in the science lab in a recent year!