Possible for a Redback spider to be in the US?

[darkness975]

I just wish people would learn as quickly as they fear

Good luck with that I am afraid ...

Speaking of this situation with the L. geometricus , does anyone know if they are continuing to spread and if there are any current papers on the subject or current studies being done?

 

[Python]

I'm sure they are spreading. A couple years ago I found one in my yard. I had never heard of one being anywhere near us till I found her and she was gravid so there were many more that I didn't see.

 

[myrmecophile]

Hopefully the influx of non native Latrodectus geometricus does not continue to spread and destroy the environment but as with other similar events it does not look good.

People that are not in the know usually will say "oh it's great because they aren't as dangerous" or whatever but the potential ecological disaster is not worth it.
Latrodectus might be famous for having stronger venom than many other spiders but the fear mongering media makes it seem like there are billions of them waiting for you to turn out the light so they can swarm you.

They are not as commonly encountered as people think but the few cases of bite occurrences are always splashed everywhere.

A while back someone PMed me asking if I would sell them brown widows, I told them no, I killed them when I found them. the following is the response I got them. Ants in general are hardly pest insects. Some people just don't get it. I have no doubt they are continuing to spread, they will continue to wreak ecological havoc where ever the environment is favorable.

"
The spider is a beneficial organism to farmers. What you are doing is counter productive. You'd be better served doing this to ants. I have several organic methods of killing them from use of parasites to specialized viruses. I hope to find even more effective vectors in the new year. The brown widow's success as a beneficial predator is a bar that has been set. We must responsibly eliminate pest insects like ants that damage food crops. Here's to a productive New Year."

 

[Fishman]

Female Redback Spider
The Business end:-

The Stripe which is so distinguishing

A smaller one, less mature version showing crenelated stripe common to younger ones

Typical mess of web with egg sacs on dark tight space.

Enjoy, they're everywhere here. Nothing to really worry about, just don't put your pants on without shaking them out in the morning.

 

[Widow lover]

The white bands and broken stripe on the back are typical of juvenile Hasseltii. If you keep it and the white disappears while the red joins into a single stripe, it be Hasseltii. That would definitely be worth taking to a local university. Head scratching time how it got there.
Recent reports have them turning up in Europe and Japan.

I once again live in the eastern panhandle of WV, where I grew up. Over the years here and my parents and I have spotted a few L. mactans or southern black widows. I recently came across a mud dauber wasp nest for the first time, not knowing what it was and thinking it was an abandoned insect nest of some kind. It was located in a door frame that is a primary entry way into my home, so it needed to be destroyed. I was VERY surprised to see the spiders inside when I started breaking it apart. One of the first spiders I saw had a remarkable color pattern on the back. A quick google search made me think it was simply L. mactans, but after a few days of researching creepy crawlies and looking at pictures, I am convinced it is actually L. hasseltii.

I know this post is old, but if anyone is able to identify this spider (image and link below) I would very thankful. It would be nice to know if these are possibly in and around my home.

http://imgur.com/a/nWb4R

That's latrodectus variolus.....
Hasselti juveniles don't look anything like that.

 

[Widow lover]

Researching what kind of spider was on my front door led me here. Maybe you guys can help me figure it out. I looked at a lot of pictures and can't seem to decide on what I think it is. What do you guys think? I live in Oklahoma by the way.

View attachment 220981

Juvenile mactans

 

[USMuscle9403]

I guess it's not entirely impossible for a hasselti to take up residence here, but if it was mature, it may have just been variolus. I've seen L. variolus carry the dorsal stripe well into adulthood.

 

[Dustinzor]

I live in Colorado and just found this specimen in my bathroom. When I did some internet searching, it looked like a female Redback, but that searching also led me here. What do you guys think?

 

[pannaking22]

Nope, not a redback. Lots of other markings on the abdomen, whereas hasselti have just the single giant band. My guess would be hesperus but I'm not an expert on widow ID like @Widow lover is.

 

[Biollantefan54]

I agree with L. hesperus

 

[Widow lover]

L

I live in Colorado and just found this specimen in my bathroom. When I did some internet searching, it looked like a female Redback, but that searching also led me here. What do you guys think?
View attachment 224697

. Hesperus

 

[JAFUENTES]

Hesperus indeed

 

[The Snark]

Hasseltti juvenile

(Young Australian redback spider. Taken December 2010 in Sydney, by Phil Bentley (www.localoptimum.com))

 

[Malmignatte]

Iread some time ago that red backs were in Houston Texas.but so what,usa has plenty of widow spiders and their all roughly the same in the venom.

 

[pannaking22]

Iread some time ago that red backs were in Houston Texas.but so what,usa has plenty of widow spiders and their all roughly the same in the venom.

Where did you find that? I'd be interested to read it. There shouldn't be any hasselti in Houston, but some of the subspecies of hesperus look quite a bit like hasselti

 

[Ungoliant]

Where did you find that? I'd be interested to read it. There shouldn't be any hasselti in Houston, but some of the subspecies of hesperus look quite a bit like hasselti

People often mistake juvenile black widows (or even adult Latrodectus variolus) with redbacks, because they have red markings on the dorsal side of the abdomen.

 

[Hanaleblanc]

Ok...first time I have ever seen one of these. I'm familiar with a black widow and brown widow and recluse. I'm in Louisiana so weather is good for them here. I know this isn't a great pic but I wasn't getting any closer. Help...bc I will probably loose sleep over this.

 

[Ungoliant]

I know this isn't a great pic but I wasn't getting any closer. Help...bc I will probably loose sleep over this.

This one is not even a widow spider. It's a harmless antmimic in the genus Castianeira, specifically C. crocata or C. descripta.

BugGuide does not currently have any submissions of your species from Louisiana, so I'd encourage you to submit it there.

 

[Malmignatte]

Where did you find that? I'd be interested to read it. There shouldn't be any hasselti in Houston, but some of the subspecies of hesperus look quite a bit like hasselti

Iread this some yrs ago right here in this forum and head line read Houston we have a problem.lol

 

[OkWyatt]

Can someone help me to identify this spider? It was inside a toy outside and brought inside by my kiddo. It was guarding an egg sac.