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Submitted: June 11, 2010
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Date Taken:May 26, 2010, 3:04:33 AM

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Hot Variolus Actionby ~pitbulllady

Photography / Animals, Plants & Nature / Invertebrates

This is ANOTHER pair of Northern Black Widows(Latrodactus variolus)in the act of mating; the male is the little one with the red and yellow. These were caught by one of the janitors at the school where I teach right before school got out for the summer. He found the bigger female first, then went back several minutes later and found the male hanging out in her web.

Contrary to popular belief, female Black Widows do NOT always kill and eat the male after mating. Mine didn't, and the male hung out in her web for several days before finally just wasting away and dying, as all male spiders do after mating. That act of procreation is their life's culmination; once they moult into mature males, it's just a matter of time, whether they mate with a female or not, so at least those last days of his short life weren't wasted.

pitbulllady

*Stripwalker Sep 13, 2011 Professional Artisan Crafter

so the males dont look like the females then- did not know that. We have widows around here as well- lots of em really, and though I am trying to work on my spider phobia the idea of being bitten is making that a tough one (but then so is the rattle snake phobia lol)

~TheOnePistol Oct 8, 2010 Student Digital Artist

OMG!!! i HATE spiders, i think i got Arachnophobia, every time i see a spider i freak out, even when its just a picture, like now. XD

~pitbulllady Oct 9, 2010

I used to be like that, then I realized what horrible hypocracy it was for me to feel like that about spiders while adamantly defending snakes and APBT's against the same sort of unjustified fear/hate. It made absolutely no sense whatsoever, and I was bound and determined that I would not let my fear/hate turn into a full-blown mental illness-a phobia. Yes, people with genuine phobias ARE mentally ill and highly unstable! I knew that the only way to overcome this was by directly confronting my FEAR, not the object of my fear. Killing and doing violence to something is NOT overcoming fear at all, just channelling it into the "Fight" aspect of the "Flight/Fight" fear response. When a fellow teacher offered me a tarantula that her son had kept at home and left behind when he got married and moved out, I realized this was my opportunity, and accepted it. Now, I can fully appreciate these animals by close association with them, and I also realize that the fear of these, even of highly venomous species like these Latrodactus, is not justified at all.

pitbulllady

~TheOnePistol Oct 18, 2010 Student Digital Artist

I wish i thought like you did, no matter how much I try, I can never not fear a spider. I don't think you can just get over Arachnophobia, and if you can then thats awesome, i just haven't yet.

You you wanna see a dude scream like a chick and run the other way, just throw a spider at me.

~Guardfather Jun 13, 2010

I didn't realize male spiders die after mating. I guess the female Black Widows aren't such horrible lovers after all. If they do kill their mate, his life ends at a blissful, romantic moment. What a great way to die. lol

=Ilharess Jun 12, 2010

interesting, i had to look carefully to notice the male. say you have widows all around the states, eh? in europe we only have them south, they don't live in the continent and although i do like spiders, i'm happy they aren't around. just as i don't really wish to meet vipers in the nature esp if i don't see them first

~Trustthapo Jun 12, 2010 Hobbyist General Artist

How gorgeous! That must suck for the males- the only good thing to look forward in life is probably the last thing he'll end up doing, one way or another.

It's funny that you just posted these photos; I just recently found a Southern Black Widow male in my garden. He was sitting in the middle of a sunflower bud in our garden, surrounded by leafhoppers! With my luck, it started to RAIN when I finally found my camera.

~banango Jun 11, 2010

Waha! I shouldn't find this fascinating but I do.
Your janitor found this? Take me to your school (or at least tell me your state/area/whatever)! I've been waiting to study a venomous spidey for ages, but, unfortunately I live in a cold weather climate.
The most we have here are rattles, and though I love snakes, I'm not getting within striking range of those guys! hhurrr.... umno
Bit depressing though, isn't it? The male spends his entire life only wanting a good shag that will most definately mean death. I honor bitty male spiders for how much some of them put up with for their females!

I've always found non-mammalian creatures amazing - maybe it's the wonderfuly odd alieness of them or just my allergies, but anyways, I thank you for posting these pictures!
And if it wouldn't bother you too much, could I get a closeup of the mouth and some of those gorgeous legs?

~pitbulllady Jun 11, 2010

I don't know of any part of the US where there aren't Black Widows of some species or another. Members on an arachnid forum I'm on find them in our most-northern states and up into parts of Canada; you just have to know where to look. They are very secretive and they're also nocturnal, only venturing out at night, and they never voluntarily leave their webs. You have probably overlooked many a Widow web and not realized it, since their webs are so sloppy and messy, not the neat symmetrical radial designs most people associate with a spider web. They love dark places, like underneath cabinets and under the eaves of buildings, so go out with a flashlight and check around places like that at night, and be careful! Don't sell these ladies' venom capacity short; drop for drop, their venom is 15 times more potent than a King Cobra's! The antivenim itself is dangerous and can only be used once on a person, so if you're unlucky enough to get bitten a second time, you're basically screwed. Given how common Latrodactus are all over North America, it's a good thing that they are so passive and reluctant to bite us; the scarcity of Widow bites is a testament to their real nature.

I'm giving this new girl I found time to settle in and start her a new web, but meanwhile, here is a close-up of the underside of a Southern Black Widow(Latrodactus mactans), the species that is supposed to be most common here where I live, that I caught a couple of years ago. You just can make out her fangs, which are absurdly small for such a potentially lethal creature: [link]

pitbulllady

~banango Jun 11, 2010

OHOHOHO WONDERFUL
I shall start looking with haste!
I'll wear the surgical needle proof gloves I use for handling wild snakes. That should do it, yeah? They've protected me from a snake jab before.

(: Hey, and thanks so much for the information and for replying so thoroughly! It's rare I find someone so scientific on the site (or even the internet really) willing to discuss animals and bugs with me. Even your discriptions are thorough!
hehe my friends think I'm eccentric, but I know better.
<3

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