#4408 · 🕷️ spiders & kin

Western Black Widow

🇳🇱 Westelijke zwarte weduwe ·Latrodectus hesperus

10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

1. © Marshal Hedin · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
2. © Toby · CC BY-NC 4.0
3. © kamedaphor · CC BY-NC 4.0
4. © Luke Padon · CC BY 4.0
5. © Fabio Moretzsohn · CC BY-NC 4.0
6. © Fabio Moretzsohn · CC BY-NC 4.0
7. Orinda:© drashleighm · CC BY-NC 4.0
8. AGKyard, Polk, El Paso, TX 79912, USA:© Ad Konings · CC BY-NC 4.0
9. Oregon, US:© Matt Poole · CC BY-NC 4.0
10. San Diego County, CA, USA:© Marshal Hedin · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

what is it?

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 yellow, and on rare occasions, white. The male of the species is around half this length and generally a tan color with lighter striping on the abdomen....

base stats

NL sightings 0iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 34,139iNaturalist observations

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
34,139 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named by Wilton Ivie in 1935 (91 years ago).