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Comments & ID Thoughts
I'm wondering if this is a black widow? It's hanging outside my window on the 14th floor of my apartment :/ I can't see it's belly too well to see if there are any red markings, if there are any it must be small? It's very active. I live in Chicago, IL. Not sure if there's a big population here. Also not sure how it got there, my guess is the wind brought it. It gets REALLY windy here.
- Submitted by:
- Submitted: Jun 24, 2021
- Photographed: Jun 24, 2021
- Spider: Unidentified
- Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Spotted Outdoors: Man-made structure (building wall, fences, etc.)
- Found in web?: Yes
- Attributes:
I think it’s about 15 mm?
It might actually be a Black Widow, Latrodectus variolus. We have photos of them without visible markings. If you click on your state on this page you can see the submitted species and most of the photos we’ve received of each. Another possibility is the False Widow, Parasteatoda tepidariorum. Yes, spiders can travel on the wind. It’s called ballooning. Young spiders often leave their mother and siblings by “tenting” (posterior pointed up with a strand of silk). They can calculate variables in atmospheric conditions and many species in an area may do it simultaneously. They can travel by air for… Read more »
Thank you for helping with identifying! An hour before I noticed it outside my window, I noticed a baby spider on the wall indoors, right by the window I later saw the black spider from. I’ve actually always liked spiders–there’s a lot to love about them. But now I’m a little paranoid that the small baby spider I saw might have been an offspring. That was the first spider I saw in my home ever since I moved in. Should it be something to worry about? I don’t know how likely it is for it to have offsprings this high… Read more »
I didnt realize until i caught a Black Widow, but they are VERY black.