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Female Black Widow Spider

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This girl shown here is my most favorite animal in the world. She is a venomous spider that lives in the southern, western and northern parts of the United States, as well as parts of southern Canada. There are widow spiders in every continent except Antarctica but the Black Widow specifically lives in North America. She is easily recognizable by her shiny black body and red hourglass on her abdomen. The hourglass serves as a warning to other animals that she's venomous and not a creature to mess with. The "widow" in her name comes from the fact that they eat the males during or after mating(To be honest though all spiders do this, not all the time because the males are sometimes able to escape, but majority of the time the females eat the males because they are hungry and/or need nutrients for their spiderlings. But there are times when the males are eaten before mating because the female isn't impressed with the display he used and doesn't like him. Males spiders use displays or give females insects as gifts so when she gets hungry, she already has food.) Female Black Widow spiders are larger than males(again a general fact for all spiders). If the weight was measured in human terms, the female weighs 6,000 pounds while the male weighs 200 or 300 pounds I don't remember which one. The male inserts sperm into the female's epigyne(her external genitalia. You can look it up if you're curious on what it looks like)using a pedipalp and leaves a part of it inside her. Mating lasts for hours. It's to ensure no other males are able to mate with her and then goes to find another. The female eats him during or after mating for her to get nutrients for her babies and to satisfy her hunger. Here's the interesting part: the males often willingly sacrifice themselves to the female. Plus he'll pass on more genes and have a more successful generation born from the female if he gets eaten than if he escapes. The female's venom contains a neurotoxin and latrotoxin, a nasty The side effects of the venom of the female Black Widow Spider are muscle spasms, severe muscle pain, abdominal cramps, hyperhidrosis, tachycardia, localized sweating, and possible hallucinations. It only lasts for 3-7 days but may persist for several weeks. There is an antivenom but it is used as pain relief since symptoms are not life threatening. Another alternative is to tough it out while taking medication. About 2,200 people are bitten by Black Widow Spiders(only the females bite people) and most recover within a day with medical treatment. A healthy person only has a 5% chance of dying. The only victims that die from the spider's bite are children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems. But the females(I mention only the female Black Widows because victims only encounter the female Black Widows. Males are venomous too but it is very weak towards people) are docile and only attack when threatened or provoked so don't be too afraid of them. Remember: spiders are more scared of you than you are of them. If you want more information about these spiders, you can go on Youtube or search on Google for website that give plenty of information about these spiders. You can buy 📚 about them or about spiders in general and find a specific page about them.

Also this photo is not mine. I found from a website called livescience.com check it out if you want. I never encountered a Black Widow Spider up close. And if you encounter one, be cautious especially if you want to remove her from your home. And DON'T provoke or threaten her otherwise she will attack. Comments are appreciated. Ask any questions, give your thoughts and opinions, etc and I'll answer it the best that I can. The information about these spiders are complete facts that came from my memory. I remember alot of the facts from years and I mean YEARS ago. Hope you enjoy!!!!😉😊😊😊
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ImpalerQueen's avatar

I actually am taking care of an entire crew of them who live by my front door - they've been living in my dad's petrified wood collection for about four to five years now. My favorite - I know, I shouldn't play favorites, but still - was my dear Mina


RiP Mina

Look between the rocks, she's there! XD


And my lovely Ligeia (sorry the picture's blurry, I was using the Night Light setting on my Nintendo DS)


Little Ligeia

They make our neighbors - and the occasional pizza guy - VERY nervous, but they protect me and my family from nasty bugs and the occasional nasty human. They're so used to me they turn on their webs when I call their names...and they've actually gotten off their webs and walked TOWARD me several times, normally black widows don't do that.