Latrodectus (Theridiidae) Picture Thread

[JPD]

Here are a couple of pics of one of my L.tredecimguttatus females. I have an all black specimen on the previous post and this represents my more colorful variety.

 

[joe8421]

lol
so dangeruous one!!!!
but....... nice looking

 

[Sheri]

JPD, those pics with the shadow in the background are tremendous!


Anyone else find the black (as in the widows that have black coloration as opposed to the other varities) widows incredibly hard to photograph with any success?

 

[JPD]

JPD, those pics with the shadow in the background are tremendous!

Thanks Sheri.

Anyone else find the black (as in the widows that have black coloration as opposed to the other varities) widows incredibly hard to photograph with any success?

Sometimes they can be tricky. Usually, I take a whole buttload of photographs and get one or two worth keeping.

 

[JPD]

Here are a few more.

L.tredecimguttatus

L.curacaviensis

May have posted this L.mactans shot already but I like it alot so here it is again!

 

[JPD]

Oh and another L.pallidus....

 

[Bastian Drolshagen]

Latrodectus tredecimguttatus

 

[RaZeDaHeLL666]

These are my three female L. hesperus

 

[David_F]

L. hesperus taking care of a cricket

 

[pwilfort]

What kind is the California widow? I got bite 3 weeks ago by one and still have the brusing from it, i'm over all the pain and sickness from it. This is my 2nd time I been bite by these. I better not say where this one got me! LOL the first one got me on my hand but not this one. Of all the places it had to bite me there. !Let's just say the chest area!
Penney

 

[P. Novak]

Oh wow, David F can i see that enlcosure? Looks like your keeping it in a tank or something, different from the Regular Enclosures.



Also is this statement true..... "Only the female Black Widow is venomous; males and juveniles are harmless.." ? I found it on here http://www.desertusa.com/july97/du_bwindow.html

 

[David_F]

Oh wow, David F can i see that enlcosure? Looks like your keeping it in a tank or something, different from the Regular Enclosures.

I don't have any pics of the whole enclosure. Nothing too impressive, really. It's just a 2.5 gallon aquarium with a bit of peat moss/sand substrate and a piece of grapevine. Probably a bit too big for one widow. I know it's a pain in the butt to get in to feed her.

Also is this statement true..... "Only the female Black Widow is venomous; males and juveniles are harmless.." ? I found it on here http://www.desertusa.com/july97/du_bwindow.html

As far as I know that's true. Hopefully someone who knows for sure will answer.

 

[P. Novak]

Oh alright, thanks! I finally caught a big female widow today!! =D im wondering what you guys feed it, since it hangs off the web, will it be able to catch the crix?

 

[David_F]

Oh alright, thanks! I finally caught a big female widow today!! =D im wondering what you guys feed it, since it hangs off the web, will it be able to catch the crix?

Yeah, it will have no trouble taking crickets. It's pretty fun to watch them catch bugs so just throw in a live cricket and enjoy the show.

 

[P. Novak]

THANKS DAVID F!


Are these Juvi L.hesperus? Do juvie L.hesperus have the hourglass mark? Im thinking they dont.

 

[David_F]

THANKS DAVID F!


Are these Juvi L.hesperus? Do juvie L.hesperus have the hourglass mark? Im thinking they dont.

Not sure what those are but I don't think they're L. hesperus. Juvenile widows have an hourglass marking it's just not as well defined as on adults. The coloration on small widows is also a lot different from the spiders in your pics.

 

[surena]

THANKS DAVID F!


Are these Juvi L.hesperus? Do juvie L.hesperus have the hourglass mark? Im thinking they dont.

Juvie L. hesperus have the hourglass. The spider in that picture does not look like a L. hesperus. Females only have the hourglass marking and are solid black, unlike L. mactans, that has the dotted spots.

 

[Venom]

Demonhunter....those look very much like Steatoda to me. I really don't believe those are any species of Latrodectus.

 

[MizM]

What kind is the California widow? I got bite 3 weeks ago by one and still have the brusing from it, i'm over all the pain and sickness from it. This is my 2nd time I been bite by these. I better not say where this one got me! LOL the first one got me on my hand but not this one. Of all the places it had to bite me there. !Let's just say the chest area!
Penney

Pen, we have both hesperus AND mactans here. I have a VERY difficult time telling them apart though. I'm sure the bite of both would give the same reaction. Unfortunately, in CA, if they are black and shiny, they are referred to as "black widows."

 

[surena]

Pen, we have both hesperus AND mactans here. I have a VERY difficult time telling them apart though. I'm sure the bite of both would give the same reaction. Unfortunately, in CA, if they are black and shiny, they are referred to as "black widows."

The California widow would be L.hesperus.

Here are some pictures of both species (males and females) that I hope will clarify confusion. I also want to point something out between the two species. The L. mactans will play "dead" when felt threaten, whereas the L. hesperus don’t!
I have not read anywhere about this kind of behavior, and it is something that I have noticed.

The first two pictures are of a female L. mactan. You can see one the hourglass and at least one of the red dots. L. hesperus females don't have the red dot

The picture below is a picture of mature male L. mactans. You can still see the "dot" markings

The picture below is a picture of a female L. hesperus as you can see solid black

And at last the two pictures below are of a mature male L. hesperus