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Latrodectus mactans, known as southern black widow or simply black widow, and the shoe-button spider, [citation needed] is a venomous species of spider in the genus Latrodectus. The females are well known for their distinctive black and red coloring and for the fact that they will occasionally eat their mates after reproduction.
Females of a few species are paler brown and some have no bright markings. The bodies of black widow spiders range from 3–10 mm (0.12–0.39 in) in size; some females can measure 13 mm (0.51 in) in their body length (not including legs). [8] Including legs, female adult black widows generally measure 25–38 mm (1–1.5 in). [9] [10]
Latrodectus hesperus, the western black widow spider or western widow, is a venomous spider species found in western regions of North America. The female's body is 14–16 mm (1/2 in) in length and is black, often with an hourglass-shaped red mark on the lower abdomen. This "hourglass" mark can be red, yellow, and on rare occasions, white.
Instead, he focused on differences in the morphology of the female sexual organs, and revised the number of recognised species from 22 to 6. This included reclassifying the redback and several other species as subspecies of the best-known member of the group, the black widow spider (Latrodectus mactans), found in North America and other regions ...
The Mediterranean widow primarily lives in steppes and other grasslands, and can be a significant problem in areas where grain is harvested by hand. The female of the species has a body length of about 7–15 mm (0.28–0.59 in), while the male is smaller and reaches 4–7 mm (0.16–0.28 in) at best.
In most species, only the female spider is capable of effectively delivering the venom to humans as the males have much smaller chelicerae. Although rarely fatal, the symptoms of the bite are often incredibly painful and medical attention is recommended following any Latrodectus species bite, as complications relating to the bite can arise.
The male Australian redback spider Latrodectus hasselti is killed by the female after he inserts his second palpus in the female genital opening; in over 60% of cases the female then eats the male. Although the male Latrodectus hasselti may sometimes die during mating without the female actually consuming him, this species represents a possible ...
A latrotoxin is a high-molecular mass neurotoxin found in the venom of spiders of the genus Latrodectus (widow spiders) as well as at least one species of another genus in the same family, Steatoda nobilis. [1] Latrotoxins are the main active components of the venom and are responsible for the symptoms of latrodectism.