Possible for a Redback spider to be in the US?

[dangerforceidle]

Yep. Google Lens told me Red Back and here I am lol View attachment 406122

Important to note, redbacks are widow spiders. They belong to the same genus. They just happen to have a different local common name than what they were called in North America.

Latrodectus hasselti - Australian redback
Latrodectus mactans - Southern black widow
Latrodectus variolus - Northern black widow

They are all cousins. As @Albireo Wulfbooper pointed out, the North American species can retain their red dorsal stripe well into adulthood as well, redbacks just seem to keep it longer and more consistently.

The spider you found is certainly one of the two local species.

 

[Bushidoren]

I
I have seen these around here for 15 years. I finally caught on to look at closely. This is in southern colorado in a hot arid area.

 

[Widowman10]

Hello fellow Coloradan! Classic hesperus!

 

[The Snark]

How often does Hesperus retain the dorsal stripe into maturity?

 

[Widowman10]

How often does Hesperus retain the dorsal stripe into maturity?

Very rarely, it is variable by location/population, and it’s never nearly as pronounced as the hasselti. Whenever I’ve seen posts like these over the years it’s nearly always a picture of an immature female… I have seen some tiny hints of white carry into the adult stage of hesperus too, but again it’s rare and not pronounced.

 

[darkness975]

L mactans seems to be more prone to retaining some (or all) of the dorsal stripe. At least in parts of its range.