Pet Black Widow

As many of you might be thinking when you see the title "Pet Black Widow", yes I am talking about the venomous arachnid, Latrodectus hesperus, that was the subject of our nightmares as children and still give us the creepy crawlies. And as to the pet aspect, I am the proud caretaker to a female Widow named Sheelah. With this blog I am trying to increase Black Widow awareness and demolish stereotypes set by the media about these fine creatures.

  Now with that out of the way, the first thing i would like to talk about is the spider itself. Black Widows are part of the Latrodectus genus that has sub species living in all continents except Antarctica. This is good news because you can use the information from this blog all around the world. But its bad news for those of you who hate spiders and the cold. It looks like you cant have everything in this life. The spider gets its name from the characteristically big, black bodies of the females. The males are about a third the size and light brown. They also have a red hourglass on their belly. Females can be red, orange, yellow or even white, while males are brown. The widow part comes from the fact that they engage in sexual cannibalism. After mating the female usually eats the male. This isn't just a metaphor for us men to take into account when dealing with women, but a evolutionary tool used to increase the survival of the young. Males are basically just a living reproductive system and their only purpose in life is to breed. When they breed they actually remove their reproductive organs and place them inside the female, this will kill them eventually, so instead of dying a slow painful death they let the female eat them so she can be better nourished to produce eggs. OK enough about sex, the spider prefer habitats that are dark, cool, and damp. Like wood piles, garages, basements, and under decks. The females can live up to 3 to 6 years and males only live about 10 months. The venom of the female is 10 times more toxic than a rattlesnake but she only injects a very small amount. They males are also venomous but they aren't big enough to bite humans. The bite isn't fatal in most cases but it still requires medical attention. Victims experience swelling, abdominal cramps, muscle spasms, extreme pain, and profuse sweating. The venom is designed to break down the insides of its prey into a bug smoothie. But it is very easy to avoid not getting bit, the only times a Widow will bite is when defending its egg sacks, defending herself, or killing prey. Black Widows play a critical part in the ecosystem and keep the insect population under control. Keep this in mind next time you come across one of these fascinating critters.

 This is a female with a egg sack

 This is a male

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/black-widow-spider/