Possible for a Redback spider to be in the US?

The Snark

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they're commensals with humans and fail to thrive away from houses and irrigation.
Can you direct us to a white paper on that? Feels a lot like a typical invasive finding niches in ecosystems, but extremely hyper.

Some believe they're african, others believe they're australasian or south-american.
True cosmopolitan opportunists. Give globalization, human stupidity, and a few more decades I suspect the African bee will show very similar omnipresence.
 
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Damn Brown widows... Damn them to the mantle of earths layers... Soon they will kill off all native widow species if we don't eradicate them first...
 

The Snark

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Damn Brown widows... Damn them to the mantle of earths layers... Soon they will kill off all native widow species if we don't eradicate them first...
If it's like @Smokehound714 says all over I suspect it will be like the Himalayan blackberry invasion in the pacific northwest. Essentially, obvious plans to take over the planet. However, environmental limiting factors came into play. So Geos prefer human habitation and are displacing Hesperus. But Hesperus has a huge range and widely differing environments. From the cold and constantly damp pacific northwest to the alkali flats on borders of death valley and south past the Salton Seat into Mexico. Opportunity invasives rarely are able to tolerate all the niches that the local animal populations have adapted to.
 

NYAN

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Venom potency: https://sites.google.com/site/widowman10/venom

Gee thanks, globalization. We now have Hasseltii, Mactans, Hesperus and Dahli in Thailand. Meanwhile, Hesperus, apparently fed up competing with Geometricus has moved to Israel.
Are you sure abour Hesperus and mactans being in Asia? I know of geometricus and hasselti being invasive, but not those two. I would be interested in reading more about this if so.
 

The Snark

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Are you sure abour Hesperus and mactans being in Asia?
A friend brought a foreigner associate to my house two weeks ago and asked if I could ID a spider. Across the river from me about 3-4 hundred meters off. Several holes under a shipping container with that tell tale web. They had their workers dig out the area and unearthed a typical Hesperus. Asking where the container came from: Sat in San Pedro for a couple of months before coming here.
Similar incidents are popping up everywhere. Down in Phitsanulok they had several widows turn up. Containers nearby came from Jacksonville, Florida.
Just a question of if they establish themselves.
I mentioned a probable widow to Rod Crawford a few years back. He wasn't surprised at all. Said it was only a matter of time considering how metropolitan widows are.

Meanwhile down in Den Chai a man died from a necrotic wound. L Recluse was found and positively identified. We had no dangerous spiders here hence the man ignored the bite.
 
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NYAN

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A friend brought a foreigner associate to my house two weeks ago and asked if I could ID a spider. Across the river from me about 3-4 hundred meters off. Several holes under a shipping container with that tell tale web. They had their workers dig out the area and unearthed a typical Hesperus. Asking where the container came from: Sat in San Pedro for a couple of months before coming here.
Similar incidents are popping up everywhere. Down in Phitsanulok they had several widows turn up. Containers nearby came from Jacksonville, Florida.
Just a question of if they establish themselves.
I mentioned a probable widow to Rod Crawford a few years back. He wasn't surprised at all. Said it was only a matter of time considering how metropolitan widows are.

Meanwhile down in Den Chai a man died from a necrotic wound. L Recluse was found and positively identified. We had no dangerous spiders here hence the man ignored the bite.
Interesting. Loxosceles recluse doesn’t kill healthy adults usually. That package with Hesperus came from very close to where I live, cool. I suppose it’s possible for them to lay eggs and for them to hatch. I imagine that the populations would be very enclosed at first though. What a time we live in..
 

The Snark

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Loxosceles recluse doesn’t kill healthy adults usually.
Take into account how stoic the average farmer is, the fact he knew he got bit by a spider and they are harmless, and most farmers don't go to medical centers but instead to clinics where nurses or techs handle the work load and a doc breezes through now and then. I've been by our neighborhood clinic a couple dozen times and have yet to see a doc. And then to top it off, most of the hospitals here are government operated where Docs get around $3 to $5 per patient seen and let's just say the overall medical quality and capability are lacking. Thai's are also usually one trick ponys. Thinking outside their little boxes is virtually unheard of. So spider bite? Take paracetomol and check back in a few days if it doesn't get better.

By the rough time frame I put together with the envenomed farmer, it went from weeping open sore to systemic in less than 24 hours. Official cause of death, "heart and lung failure" which is nicely vague and meaningless.
 

Widowman10

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Right on! Thx @The Snark :cigar:

I put quite a bit of work into finding those values, but I'm not sure I saved the sources or could recall exactly where I found all of them. I remember reading differing reports of values as well, so I went with the more trusted/recent studies for those values. Some species were not studied very thoroughly either.
There's hope for Variolus yet!
 

KES

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A40FF270-4805-4C94-997A-1A128C9B83DD.jpeg I’ve seen several of these in my yard in Oklahoma. Is this typical? I was expecting the markings to be more hour glass shaped due to our location.
 

NYAN

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View attachment 313460 I’ve seen several of these in my yard in Oklahoma. Is this typical? I was expecting the markings to be more hour glass shaped due to our location.
You’re looking at the wrong side if you want to see an hourglass. Contrary to popular belief, (Likely due to people’s tattoos and art) the hourglass is on the ventral side. As for the dorsal pattern it is perfectly normal for the species, Latrodectus mactans. I think this one is a molt or two from maturity so the red may disappear a bit.
 

HippyMom121518

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Just moved to Williamson Rv park in Conway, South Carolina and found this beauty on the power supply hook ups. Can anyone help me identify? I have a 4 year old daughter and a 7 year old son and dont want anyone or anything hurt so id like help with identification and tips on removal or what would be best because either way she's gotta go and will be way too close for comfort! Thanks in advance!
 

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NYAN

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Just moved to Williamson Rv park in Conway, South Carolina and found this beauty on the power supply hook ups. Can anyone help me identify? I have a 4 year old daughter and a 7 year old son and dont want anyone or anything hurt so id like help with identification and tips on removal or what would be best because either way she's gotta go and will be way too close for comfort! Thanks in advance!
I’d guess it’s Latrodectus mactans, although L. variolus can also be found in your state.


Where is she set up relative to the places that your kids occupy? She has her web set up so she is unlikely to move. What I would advice is just exercising care in that area. The only way someone would get bit is by mistakenly grabbing her. Overall it is a good lesson for your kids. Respect nature and learn to exercise care in places where it inhabits.
 

Ungoliant

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Where is she set up relative to the places that your kids occupy? She has her web set up so she is unlikely to move. What I would advice is just exercising care in that area. The only way someone would get bit is by mistakenly grabbing her. Overall it is a good lesson for your kids. Respect nature and learn to exercise care in places where it inhabits.
With the invasive brown widows having taken over our state, it's nice to see a native black widow.
 

TwitchingShark

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So, I got bit by a widow about a year ago. It was not an enjoyable experience. By the time the ER doctor got to me all my muscles were seized. They gave me a shot of something and within 30 minutes or so I was back to normal. The next day I felt like I got hit by a train.

Black Widows are fun to watch, but be cautious of their very strong venom. I've had kidney stones, broken bones, spinal taps. That little bite was the worst by far!

In Oklahoma by the way. I've been seeing a lot more around my house over the past 3 years.
 

dangerforceidle

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So, I got bit by a widow about a year ago. It was not an enjoyable experience. By the time the ER doctor got to me all my muscles were seized. They gave me a shot of something and within 30 minutes or so I was back to normal. The next day I felt like I got hit by a train.

Black Widows are fun to watch, but be cautious of their very strong venom. I've had kidney stones, broken bones, spinal taps. That little bite was the worst by far!

In Oklahoma by the way. I've been seeing a lot more around my house over the past 3 years.
Worse than kidney stones! General consensus is that passing kidney stones is pretty high up on the pain index, so the bite must have been something.
 

chloeeeyo

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So I was cleaning and I found a dead spider. At first I thought it was just a black widow so I wasn't freaked out but now I'm thinking it's a Redback and I'm totally freaking out. What do you guys think?
It's pretty small. about the size of a piece of cat food
 

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Ferrachi

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It could either be a L variolus or L Mactans depending on your location
 

NYAN

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Latrodectus mactans.

I wish people would read the thread before posting the exact same thing as the last person.
 
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