Brown widow spiders belong to the family of cobweb spiders. Although initially it was thought to be a native of South Africa, but brown widows were found in South America and Africa as well.
Size: Female brown widow spiders are around 0.5 in long (1.2 cm) and males are one-third of them. The usual leg span of female spiders is 1.5-2.0 in (3.81-5.08 cm).
Color: Just like their name, these spiders are mostly brown or tan. Some spiders can be pale while others can be extremely dark, like black.
Other Characteristic Features: There is an hourglass marking on the abdomen in yellow or orange shades.
Female spiders lay 12-150 eggs in a thorny or spiky tan-colored sac. Throughout their lifetime, they can produce around 20 sacs maximum. It takes around 20 days for the hatchlings to come out of the eggs.
Spiderlings eat other spiderlings and continue to grow new skin, shedding the older one.
The web does not have any certain pattern and it is made of silk emerging from the spinnerets of the spider. There is a peripheral retreat for the female spider, so that it can hide in it whenever it feels threatened.
Brown widow spiders are basically shy and they avoid human contacts. They bite under the most desperate situation. the affected skin might turn red with pain. As far as the venom is concerned, it is neurotoxic, resulting in vomiting or muscle rigidity. Medical assistance is recommended.
| Other Names | Brown button spider, brown-black widow, grey widow, geometric button spider, house button spider |
| Distribution | South Africa, United States, Afghanistan, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Japan, China, El Salvador, Brazil, Uruguay, Thailand, Costa Rica, and Australia |
| Habitat | Backyards, garages, mailboxes, buckets, unused and empty containers |
| Web Type | Asymmetrical |
| Diet | Insects |
| Predators | Digger wasps and mud daubers |
| IUCN Conservation Status | Not listed |
Image Credits: A.scpr.org, Cisr.ucr.edu, Pe.com, Desertusa.com, Live.staticflickr.com, Bugguide.net, I.pinimg.com
Brown widow spiders belong to the family of cobweb spiders. Although initially it was thought to be a native of South Africa, but brown widows were found in South America and Africa as well.
Size: Female brown widow spiders are around 0.5 in long (1.2 cm) and males are one-third of them. The usual leg span of female spiders is 1.5-2.0 in (3.81-5.08 cm).
Color: Just like their name, these spiders are mostly brown or tan. Some spiders can be pale while others can be extremely dark, like black.
Other Characteristic Features: There is an hourglass marking on the abdomen in yellow or orange shades.
Female spiders lay 12-150 eggs in a thorny or spiky tan-colored sac. Throughout their lifetime, they can produce around 20 sacs maximum. It takes around 20 days for the hatchlings to come out of the eggs.
Spiderlings eat other spiderlings and continue to grow new skin, shedding the older one.
The web does not have any certain pattern and it is made of silk emerging from the spinnerets of the spider. There is a peripheral retreat for the female spider, so that it can hide in it whenever it feels threatened.
Brown widow spiders are basically shy and they avoid human contacts. They bite under the most desperate situation. the affected skin might turn red with pain. As far as the venom is concerned, it is neurotoxic, resulting in vomiting or muscle rigidity. Medical assistance is recommended.
| Other Names | Brown button spider, brown-black widow, grey widow, geometric button spider, house button spider |
| Distribution | South Africa, United States, Afghanistan, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Japan, China, El Salvador, Brazil, Uruguay, Thailand, Costa Rica, and Australia |
| Habitat | Backyards, garages, mailboxes, buckets, unused and empty containers |
| Web Type | Asymmetrical |
| Diet | Insects |
| Predators | Digger wasps and mud daubers |
| IUCN Conservation Status | Not listed |
Image Credits: A.scpr.org, Cisr.ucr.edu, Pe.com, Desertusa.com, Live.staticflickr.com, Bugguide.net, I.pinimg.com
