Latrodectus hesperus
When I was a small fry, I had a sticky friend who would linger when I asked her to go home or she would show up at my house
at meals and this would really bother my mother. Now I look back and think that maybe my friend had a home she didn't
want to go back to or possibly she was very hungry and lonely. This male Black Widow seems to have the same problem
with a fly attaching itself to the spider's ant lunch. "Please go home." "No, I'm hungry!" © Carol Davis 9-7-2010
I spotted this beautiful spider while I was driving down a dirt road at Promontory Point. It was quite small, being a male
Black Widow instar ( immature). I have found male Black Widows to be among the most beautiful of all the spiders in
Utah with their combination of brown, white and orange colors. This is the first time I have ever seen one with a meal.
Sometimes they are the meal when they are finished mating with the female but this is true of a lot of spiders.
I'm always finding males wrapped up in webs for future dining by the hatchlings. The quick males get away.
This last photo is also shown on my Ants in Your Pants page.
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