Pest Pro Services
Saint Peters, Missouri 63376
(636) 240-8848 or (314) 808-2591
www.pestproservices.net
Harold@pestproservices.net
Commercial and Residential Pest Control
Service St. Louis
and the Surrounding Areas
CALL US ANYTIME
Adult female black widow spiders are gloss black with an hourglass shaped marking on the underside of its abdomen which can range from orange to red. They also bear a small, usually red (colors vary) dot near the spinnerets, which is separate from the hourglass. A large female black widow spider can grow to about 1.5 inches counting leg span. The body is about 0.5-0.6 inches Male black widow spiders are half the size of the female or smaller. As with many venomous creatures, the brightly colored markings serve as a warning to predators. Eating a black widow will normally not kill a small predator but the sickness that follows digestion is enough for the creature to remember that the bright red marking means "do not eat." Because the adult female black widow typically hangs and moves about its web upside down, and because the web is typically close to the ground, its hourglass is visible to most predators. Adult female widows often spend their entire lives in one place. Because juvenile females must first find this optimal location, they bear brightly colored marks upon their backs, so that they may be seen by predators when walking using its legs. Males bear similar marks to the females to serve as warning while they are searching for mates, however, the marks are not as prominent (not as brightly colored, or as large). Males, being less venomous, are less of a threat to predators, so having less prominent but similar marks helps predators to better judge their prey (some large birds can eat male widows without adverse effect, and so only avoid female spiders; those who cannot eat any widow without adverse effect eat nothing with the marks). Female juveniles develop an hourglass before the dorsal markings are shed. As is characteristic of all arthropods, black widow spiders have a hard exoskeleton
BLACK WIDOW
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