The Black Widow's Here But Don't Have Fear A female northern black widow spider, measuring about 1 1/2 inches wide. She is known to eat her "husband" after their mating, hence the black widow name. Many people will be quick to agree with the thought that the spider is the most maligned of all small things that creep, crawl or fly. Yet a great majority of spiders will nearly always make every effort, when disturbed, to hide away from danger. Most are shy recluses and few are strong enough to bite through human skin. However, tell a newcomer to your county that black widow spiders are very likely living at the base of the rock pile near to where they are standing and they will practically do a backward somersault in their haste to vacate the area. Do black widow spiders live in this region, and, if so, do they live in the close proximity of humans? The answer to both questions is – yes! Have many people ever seen one? The answer is no, but if they knew where to look they might be surprised to learn that they may be fairly common. To further put you at ease, there were only four human deaths officially attributed to the bites of black widow spiders in the U.S. between 1960-1969. When our friend, Kevin Swagel, who works at the Field Museum in Chicago learned that some northern black widow spiders had been accidentally discovered several miles north of our home he was very anxious to capture one to take to a colleague at the museum who studies these fascinating creatures. What came as a surprise was the fact that the gorgeous but extremely secretive spiders were found by a very small boy playing near the base of a loosely piled stone fence. There are three very closely related black widows in North America, the eastern, northern and western. It is the eastern species that ranges from the Northeast south to the tip of Florida that has the telltale red hourglass marking on the bottom of its abdomen. The northern species, whose hourglass marking is very distinct but usually broken, can be found from northern Florida north into southern Canada. They are quite common in southern British Columbia. Their venom is described as a very virulent and potent neurotoxin being 15 times as toxic as the venom of a prairie rattlesnake. Fortunately only a very minute amount of the spider’s venom ever enters a wound of the person who has been bitten. A healthy person usually fully recovers from the bite in from two to five days, but for the elderly or very young, death may occur within 14 to 32 hours. After being bitten one may feel painful rigidity in the muscles of the abdomen and tightness in the chest. There will usually be an increase in blood pressure, a rise in body temperature, nausea and sweating. There has been death in less than one per cent of reported cases. I was extremely impressed with the beauty of the black widow that Kevin brought to our home to show. Fortunately the spider was quite tolerant of my coming quite close to photograph it but, believe me, I jumped nearly five feet when it suddenly made a very quick move in my direction – and so did Kevin. But just that fast, Kevin had the sleek black female northern black widow carefully recaptured and in safekeeping. As I said, don’t expect to bump into one of these very secretive spiders in your back yard or under your bed. The fact of the matter is that they are seldom inhabit houses but rather will be found in undisturbed woods, near the base of wood piles, rock walls or stone piles, possibly in crawl spaces, in dark nooks and crannies that are seldom visited and are sheltered from the weather. They are nocturnal and, when found, don’t like to be cornered or trapped, especially when they are guarding their egg mass. It is then that they may rush out and bite but only upon extreme provocation. The female, which is around one and one-half inches wide including her legs, makes a large, stout, very strong, funnel-shaped web. An equally strong, three-dimensional "tangle web" is constructed in front of the funnel. It is there that she hangs upside down displaying her vivid red coloration – perhaps acting like bait – to her potential victims. Being one of the so-called "comb-footed" spiders, she has tiny combs of bristles on her hind or fourth legs. It is when she is alerted by vibrations in the tangle web, indicating that she has caught a meal, that she instantly throws liquid silk over the victim to snare it, thereby allowing her to bite it in the hind leg and paralyze it. Only then will she proceed to withdraw her liquid nourishment. Here prey victims include a host of insects, centipedes, even larger giant cockroaches and small gecko lizards in the South. Both she and her much smaller differently colored mate, who neither bites nor eats, are also fair game to predators including primarily birds, small lizards and jumping spiders. Rest easy knowing that a northern black widow spider is not out to get you. On the other hand, be cautious of going barefoot in brushy areas or other likely sites where these small spiders live, and wear gloves when handling firewood. Above all, take to heart the greatest lesson in nature – that all life is sacred! This column appeared in the Door County Advocate on 07/20/2001. © Copyright 2001 Roy Lukes. All rights reserved.