Latrodectus and Centruroides sculpturatus

[Veigar]

From what I've learned through research and my own findings here where I live, it seems as if both of these species prey on each other depending on circumstance. If the scorpion falls into the web of a widow, it's guaranteed game over (and the way in which a widow envelops them is quite interesting as it seems to always immobilize the stinger first which is quite smart). If a widow isn't in its web then it's just walking food for anything let alone a scorpion. Have any of you ever seen a scorpion fall prey to one of these? I have, plenty of times - it's quite a shocker to see honestly, considering the widow is slow and its web takes a while to fully wrap up.

That being said, it's quite interesting to me how nature can drastically vary with how these creatures interact. Would you say the Widow is a predator of the bark scorpion, or vice versa?

 

[Jonathan159]

It's an interesting question as both are very capable of killing one another but I don't think there is a solid, consistent answer. It's comparable to a lion fighting a bear type of scenario... both are more than capable of killing the other and in my opinion it's just a matter of who gets in the 'money shot' first. Invenomation from either of those species is lethal to the other. With that being said I would have thought the C. Sculpturatus would come out on top if this scenario was to be played over and over UNLESS the scorpion wanders into a web of a widow where it then swings in favour of the widow. All in all don't bet money on either because it's anyones guess as to who will come out alive. The thing to remember is that a widow can't completely digest a scorpion so there's 'evidence' of a kill. The scorpion would completely consume the widow so you wouldn't even know that a scorpion you're seeing ate a widow a few hours ago.