(Cobweb Spider)
Latrodectus hesperus
1/2 "
Immature female Black Widow on the Antelope Island Causeway. I always suspected they were there but today
I found a few. I practically had to stand on my head to get this shot because she was so low to the ground. She
was not a large widow but she was very colorful, with the signature red hourglass on the abdomen. My camera
flash washed out most of the yellow-orange in her stripes. © Carol Davis, 8-24-2006
Small immature female Western Black Widow in St. George, UT. The coloring on the back shows she will still go through a
molt or two--otherwise she would be all black with the only other coloring being the hourglass on her underside. This little
beauty was hiding in between some garden stones. Always wear gloves when gardening. © Carol Davis, 4-12-2008
Pat and Dori Williams donated this photo of a female Western Black Widow they found in Bloomington, Utah.
They have a not-so painful bite but you need to seek medical attention immediately if bitten by one. They can
make you very ill with cramping in the abdomen and back. A friend at work said his wife was putting on
a pair of shoes that she had left outside in the summer and was bitten by a black widow hiding in the toe. She
spent two days in the hospital with severe muscle cramping. In very rare instances, if no medial attention is
given, unconsciousness and death could occur. I read that if you find one of these that is brown with an hourglass,
it is a female that has not yet mated. It becomes black with a red hourglass after mating. Still just as dangerous.
© Pat Williams, 2006
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