Brown Widow Spider
Latrodectus geometricus is also known as the brown widow - from time to time killing the male after mating. The spider is well known in the United States, Australia and South Africa. During the nineties the brown widow seemed to have spread throughout Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and South Carolina.
The primary reason for this is probably the milder winters in the US of the last few years, which gives more insects for them to feed on. Another factor increasing its presence is transportation by vehicles.
Appearance
The markings on a brown widow are not as apparent as on those more darkly colored. The female can get as big as 16 mm in length while the male is much shorter. Its very timid animals and they are nocturnal and active in their web - not elsewhere.
The Brown Widow varies from light tan to dark brown or almost black. It has markings of black, white, orange and brown on the back of its abdomens.
The hourglass of The Brown Widow is orange to yellow in color and can always be differentiated from other spiders with red hourglasses.
Consequences of a bite from a brown widow spider
A bite from a brown widow does require urgent medical treatment (5 minutes) in worst cases. However in a lot of cases a bite from a brown widow will only cause pain because of the bite in itself and in other cases a red marking will occur at the site of a bite.
But only one out of twenty bites causes death. Most die after severe pain and respiratory failure (children) or heart failure (adults). The spider is not aggressive and will retreat when disturbed. Bites normally occur when a spider accidentally gets pressed against the skin of a person.
Brown Widow Spiders does not attack without reason. The venom from a brown widow is about twice as potent as venom from a black widow.
The life-cycle of the brown widow
The egg sac of a brown widow is covered with projections unlike the egg sac of other widows. This is also a way to differentiate this widow from others.
The males are quite suicidal in their mating behavior. Having been accepted as a mate, the female widow mauls the male's abdomen with her fangs.
The life-cycle of the brown widow spider is quite the same as most other widow spiders. After laying 200-300 eggs in an egg sac, spiderlings emerges from the egg sacs after approximately 3-8 weeks. The hatching is after 3 weeks and the juveniles remains in the egg sac for some time depending on weather conditions etc. When out of the egg sac the young spiders molts to their second stage and begins feeding. The spiders molt from 3 to 8 times before reaching adulthood. Female brown widows must molt 6 to 8 times before they are fully grown. The brown widow breed all year round in some areas of the United States
Related sites on the internet about brown widow spiders
The sites listed below will give you more information about the brown widow spider:
Riverside, CA RS Vetter - article
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