Black Widow Spider

Black Widow Spider

Latrodectus is a genus of spider in the family Theridiidae, many of which are commonly known as widow spiders. The genus contains 32 recognized species distributed worldwide, including the North American black widows, the button spiders of Africa, and the Australian redback. Individual species vary widely in size, but in most cases the females are dark-colored and readily identifiable by reddish hourglass-shaped markings on the abdomen.

The venomous bite of these spiders is considered particularly dangerous because of the neurotoxin latrotoxin, which causes the condition latrodectism, both named for the genus. The female black widow has unusually large venom glands and her bite is particularly harmful to humans; however, Latrodectus bites are rarely fatal if proper medical treatment is provided.

Females of most Latrodectus species are dark or black in color usually exhibiting a red or orange hourglass on the ventrum underside or bottom of the abdomen — some may have a pair of red spots or have no marking at all. They often exhibit various red or red and white markings on the dorsal or top side of the abdomen, ranging from a single stripe to bars or spots. Females of a few species are paler browner shades and some have no bright markings. Juveniles and adult male Latrodectus are half the size of the females, and are often grey or brown and usually lighter in color than females; while they may sometimes have an hourglass marking on their ventral abdomen, it may be yellow or white, not red.

The prevalence of sexual cannibalism, a behaviour in which the female eats the male after mating, in some species of Latrodectus has inspired the common name "widow spiders".  Research at the University of Hamburg in Germany suggests this ultimate sacrifice strategy has evolved to promote the survival odds of the offspring; however females of some species only rarely show this behavior, and much of the documented evidence for mate cannibalism has been observed in laboratory cages where the males could not escape.

Due to the presence of latrotoxin in their venom, black widow bites are potentially dangerous and may result in systemic effects including severe muscle pain, abdominal cramps, hyperhidrosis, tachycardia, and muscle spasms. Symptoms usually last for 3–7 days, but may persist for several weeks. Contrary to popular belief, most people who are bitten suffer no serious damage, let alone death. But bites can be fatal, usually to small children, the elderly, or the infirm.

Since the venom is not likely to be life-threatening, antivenom has been used as pain relief and not to save lives. However, a study shown the addition of antivenom to standardized pain medication did not significantly improve pain or systemic effects.

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