How To Identify A Black Widow Spider

With thin long legs and a violin shape on its back may be a brown recluse.

How to identify a black widow spider. Even within the US there are two main species that for a long time were not understood to be separate species. Male black widow spiders are about one third the size of the females and light brown in color. The black widow spider web looks like a mess of webbing.

Their shiny black bodies have a red hourglass-shaped marking on the underside of their abdomens and theyre typically about 15 inches long or about the size of a small paper clip. A small black spider with a round abdomen and red hourglass-shaped markings may be a black widow. Webs act as retreats for spiders traps for prey and defenses against predators.

The females are approximately the size of the tip of your finger and are easily identified by their distinctive dark black bodies and red hourglass shaped marking on the ventral side of the abdomen. The most famous is the black widow spider that can cause a non-fatal nasty bite. However you cant identify every black widow this way.

Most black widow spiders bodies are 3 to 10 mm in size. However female black widows have a distinct look. Female black widow spiders are about 15 inches 38 centimeters in length with long legs.

The so-called false black wi. Most black widow females have a prominent red or orange hourglass marking on their back that can be used to help identify their type. The abdomen is fairly bulbous with cream patterning on top.

The best way to identify this scary arachnid is to look for a red hourglass shape on its underside. False Black Widow Spider - BugGuideNet Identification Images Information. However poisonous spiders can also be brown black with white spots or black with a red body.