The female of the little black spider has a bad reputation; various gossip tell about her. Here are some of them: she is able to inflict a mortal bite on a person, for lunch she eats her husband - as the main dish.
Unfortunately, these stories are more or less true. Black spiders are spread all over the world. Of course, there is little chance that a black spider will make a nest in your house, but suddenly ... There is something to see: this is a shiny black spider with a red, yellow or orange pattern on its abdomen, often in the shape of a watch glass.
Differences between a male and a black widow female
Until the beginning of the 20th century, this little black spider was called differently everywhere: a spider - a watchmaker, a boot clasp, a poisonous woman. At the beginning of our century, he finally got the name - black widow. In a black widow spider, females and males look completely different, so you can distinguish the behavior of the female and understand why she has such a reputation. The male is rather dark brown than black. On the sides of the abdomen are white stripes. The pattern on the abdomen is dull, poorly defined and usually does not have a definite shape. An adult male has practically no poison or very little, it cannot even paralyze an insect reliably.
The female black widow, on the contrary, has a beautiful pattern on her abdomen, and her poisonous glands in full working order work wonderfully. The poison that stands out in drops is stronger than the poison of a rattlesnake.Compared to her husband, the female looks simply monumental: she is two to three times larger than the male.
Interesting fact: the venom of a female black widow is more deadly than the poison of a rattlesnake.
The danger of a black widow to humans
Despite their awesome appearance, the black widow spiders are rather shy. But people are wary of them for good reason: the poison by which the black widow paralyzes insects is also harmful to humans. Many cases are told about bites by black widow females. In 1933, one scientist described his condition after being bitten by a black widow’s finger: the pain quickly spread up his arm, then moved to his chest, he felt drowsiness and headache, his pulse slowed. Soon, he could no longer write independently and his assistant continued the recordings. Then the pain spread to the stomach, there was a slight trembling in the muscles of the legs, the scientist was taken to the hospital. There appeared a disorder of speech, and then breathing. He survived, but recovery lasted eight days.
In what cases will the male be eaten?
Black widow males are not the only ones whom marriage is a very dangerous field. For example, mantis females simply bite off their spouses' heads after their wedding night. The male black widow becomes just as dangerous when the time of mating begins. Finding a female hanging in a web, the male “knocks” on her door, making abdominal oscillating movements in her abdomen and thereby causing the web to vibrate. If such a vibration is made in response, everything is in order, and perhaps the spider will remain alive - the female is ready to accept the groom.But if not ... The female then pounces on the male, bites him and wraps himself in a cocoon from the web to eat when she is hungry.
Interesting fact: a female black widow often has an orange watch-glass pattern on her abdomen.
If the female is ready for mating games, then everything usually ends well. The only nuisance is if the female is suddenly hungry after the wedding night, then she will eat her betrothed without hesitation. Well, if she’s full, she’s lucky, we can say, lucky: he is released on all four sides.
