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- Submitted by:
- Submitted: May 18, 2024
- Photographed: May 15, 2024
- Spider: Latrodectus variolus (Northern Black Widow)
- Location: West Greenwich, Rhode Island, United States
- Spotted Outdoors: On Flower
- Found in web?: No
- Attributes:
Latrodectus variolus
(Northern Black Widow)
Picture ID 195847
Additional Pictures
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Latrodectus variolus
(Northern Black Widow)
Family
Genus
Species
- Submitted
Jun 9, 2024 - Photographed
Jun 9, 2024 
Male
1 Comments
Charlestown , 
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Latrodectus variolus
(Northern Black Widow)Family
Genus
Species
- Submitted Sep 18, 2020
- Photographed Sep 18, 2020
- 1 Comments
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Latrodectus variolus
(Northern Black Widow)Family
Genus
Species
- Submitted Jun 6, 2024
- Photographed May 26, 2024
- 2 Comments
Enlarge Picture
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Latrodectus variolus
(Northern Black Widow)Family
Genus
Species
- Submitted Jul 6, 2019
- Photographed Jul 4, 2019
- 2 Comments
I think this is a northern black widow. Either a male or an immature female
https://bugguide.net/node/view/2117396/bgimage
Thanks…unfortunately it was in my garden where the grandchildren play…creepy
Surprise! Rhode Island has Black Widows! I didn’t realize it until recently. New Jersey has them too. I’m in New Hampshire, New England usually doesn’t have the animals with venom that is medically significant. I suspect they are moving North as the climate changes. It’s a warm rainy December day here. Against pop culture depictions, Black Widows don’t want to interact with us at all and they probably can’t see us. They bite in self-defense if a person handles one roughly or presses against one. They are extremely sensitive to pressure and need to protect themselves from crushing and entrapment.… Read more »
Spiders in this family, Theridiidae, seem to primarily see light and dark. Dark is where they want to be to avoid being seen by predators and prey. In my at-home fooling around with False Widows ( Tangleweb Spiders) I found that one moved toward my dark clothing to escape my camera flash. It also tried going inside a sleeve. So, like their fellow arachnids, ticks, you might want to cinch or cover cuffs and wear light colored clothes. I absolutely don’t want to dissuade you or your grandkids from playing in the garden. I don’t have grandkids, but neighbors’ kids… Read more »