Fortunately, fatalities are fairly rare; the spiders are nonaggressive and bite only in self-defense, such as when someone accidentally sits on them. The animals most at risk from the black widow' ...

The black widow spider can be found on every continent except Antarctica. Its venom is toxic and painful, leaving victims to feel the effects long after the bite. Following is a transcript of the ...

Black widow spiders, known scientifically as Latrodectus, are instantly recognizable by their glossy black bodies and the iconic red hourglass marking on their abdomens (at least the females are). And ...

How to Identify a Black Widow Spider There's probably a specific image ... and those gaps—typically around the door sensors—are just big enough to allow them in,” she says.

Nicholas Brandley didn’t think so, and embraced the study of black widow spiders. “Their fangs don’t even usually pierce human skin!” he says in an effort to be reassuring. While widows ...

The false widow spiders (Steatoda spp.) form a group of species that, because of their general resemblance to the much more notorious black widow spiders (Latrodectus spp.), can cause concern when ...

View Full Profile. Learn about our Editorial Policies. The thought of black widow spiders is enough to send chills down one’s spine. Their painful bites contain a cocktail of chemicals, primarily the ...