Where Do Black Widows Live
Have you ever heard the expression “they’re every where, they’re every where”? Well that can apply to the black widow spider. Where do black widow spiders live? They can be found between the north and south latitudes of 45 degrees. The only continent on earth that they don’t live on is Antarctica.
Types of Black Widow Spiders and Where They LiveThe genus name of this insect is Latrodectus and there are 31 species. The female
spider is the most poisonous. She may be recognized by her dark or black color with two red triangles forming the shape of an hourglass on the underside of her abdomen.
There are three major species of black widows in North America. The southern black
widow is the Latrodectus Mactans and is found from Florida to New York and as far
west as Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, and parts of Nevada and Kansas with concentrations higher in the southern areas.
The northern black widow or Latrodectus Variolus is found in New England and south
eastern Canada, as far south as Florida and west to Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas with concentrations higher in the northern areas.
The western black widow or Latrodectus Hesperus is found in western Texas, Mexico,
Oklahoma, Kansas, the Pacific coast states and as far north as south western Canada.
A brown widow, Latrodectus Geometricus, is also found in the U.S.
All of these species can now be found on the Hawaiian Islands.
Habitat of the Black Widow Spider
These spiders build their “tangled” webs that look like white cotton puffs in areas where other insects, their prey, are usually seen. These areas may be inside or outside and are usually dark and out of the way places like storage areas that are not used often or on woodpiles or under a deck. The web usually contains a white ball of eggs. The widow awaits her prey in a resting area of the web and when an insect gets caught in the web she uses a trip line to pounce down on it.