The Black Widow Spider
25 November 2013
The Black Widow Spider
What is a black widow spider? Black widows are notorious spiders identified by the colored, hourglass-shaped mark on their abdomens. It is very small, females are about 15 mm and the males are only 7 mm, not including the legs. Its venom is 15 times stronger than a rattlesnake’s. The most dangerous for humans is the American black widow spider. These spiders are found in many areas of the world, but are found mostly in the Western Hemisphere, particularly North America. In North America they are separated into three groups, western black widow, southern black widow and northern black widow.
Western black widows, Latrodectus hesperus
Where do black widows live? Black widows typically prefer to be outdoors in dark places and tend to make their webs close to the ground under houses, garages and etc. However, black widows are not exclusively outdoor animals and will sometimes come indoors. A black widow spider lives about 1 ½ years. The male has a shorter life, only eight months maximum. Females lay about 400 eggs per cocoon, and about four cocoon’s every summer.
What are the effects? The black widow’s bite is nothing short of notorious. Although victims may not feel the bite, the bite site will likely become pale within first few minutes. After few hours, severe muscle cramps will spread out from the bite site and throughout the body.
Works Cited
Author’s last name, first name. Title of Book. City: Publisher, Year.
Author’s last name, first name. “Title of Article.” Title of Publication Date Published: Pages.
Author’s last name, first name. “Title of Online Article.” Title of Online Publication Version (Year Published): Pages. Date Accessed .
“Title of Article.” Title of Media. CD-ROM. City: Publisher, Year.
The Black Widow Spider
What is a black widow spider? Black widows are notorious spiders identified by the colored, hourglass-shaped mark on their abdomens. It is very small, females are about 15 mm and the males are only 7 mm, not including the legs. Its venom is 15 times stronger than a rattlesnake’s. The most dangerous for humans is the American black widow spider. These spiders are found in many areas of the world, but are found mostly in the Western Hemisphere, particularly North America. In North America they are separated into three groups, western black widow, southern black widow and northern black widow.
Western black widows, Latrodectus hesperus
Where do black widows live? Black widows typically prefer to be outdoors in dark places and tend to make their webs close to the ground under houses, garages and etc. However, black widows are not exclusively outdoor animals and will sometimes come indoors. A black widow spider lives about 1 ½ years. The male has a shorter life, only eight months maximum. Females lay about 400 eggs per cocoon, and about four cocoon’s every summer.
What are the effects? The black widow’s bite is nothing short of notorious. Although victims may not feel the bite, the bite site will likely become pale within first few minutes. After few hours, severe muscle cramps will spread out from the bite site and throughout the body.
Works Cited
Author’s last name, first name. Title of Book. City: Publisher, Year.
Author’s last name, first name. “Title of Article.” Title of Publication Date Published: Pages.
Author’s last name, first name. “Title of Online Article.” Title of Online Publication Version (Year Published): Pages. Date Accessed .
“Title of Article.” Title of Media. CD-ROM. City: Publisher, Year.