Latrodectus
(Widow Spiders)

Picture ID 95747

Picture of Latrodectus (Widow Spiders) - Dorsal

Comments & ID Thoughts

Please help me I live in northern NH and this spider was in a veggie platter that we bought at the local shaws

Subscribe
Notify of
10 Comments
oldest
newest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
j_staff99

Not good to see spiders in shipped in produce as they may be invasive. Theridiidae family? Almost looks like a widow of some kind.

TangledWeb

I did consider the invasive aspect. It isn’t a Black Widow that is native to New Hampshire. If any were to get loose here they would find it difficult to find one of our two native Black Widow species to mate with. They allegedly live here, but I can’t find anyone who has seen one here. It’s too cold here for many non-native species. Being too cold also means there aren’t many insects around in Winter for them to eat. Insects that come into the state on imported wood is our biggest invasive species introduction threat. There is a ban… Read more »

TangledWeb

Thanks for asking, That’s a Black Widow, maybe a Western Black Widow. California produce? I was just today thinking about going to Shaw’s to see if they have the Black Widow Platter in stock. Seriously! I want to find new-to-me spiders to observe. It has been a while since the last time there’s been a NH local news story about a Black Widow at Shaw’s. Not really vegetarian, is it? There’s good news that comes with the spiders. This is also what the Produce Manager might say to you…. There are more spiders in produce because organic produce is in… Read more »

j_staff99

It’s not a Western anyway, unless it’s a juvenile I guess. Westerns (females) are all black with a red hourglass underneath.

TangledWeb

Yes, I live in Nashua. Itsy Bitsy is our site moderator. She has the most experience of us on this website in identifying spiders from photos. We can’t give a 100% certain identification of a particular species of Black Widow from a photo. That requires a microscope and the specimen. We are confident that it appears to be a Black Widow if all ingredients came from USA . There isn’t any species in America that looks quite like it. There are similar foreign spiders in the same genus. There are two species of Black Widow that are native to NH.… Read more »

ItsyBitsy

Likely Latrodectus hesperus (Western Black Widow) if the grapes originated in the US (from California for example).

Additional Pictures

Picture of Latrodectus spp. (Widow Spiders) Enlarge Picture
Picture of Latrodectus spp. (Widow Spiders) - Dorsal Enlarge Picture
Picture of Latrodectus spp. (Widow Spiders) Enlarge Picture
Picture of Latrodectus spp. (Widow Spiders) - Male - Dorsal Enlarge Picture