Southern black widow
Latrodectus mactans
The Southern black widow lives in warm, sheltered habitats across the southeastern United States, often building messy tangle webs under logs, stones, outdoor furniture, sheds, and other quiet cover. It is a shy, mostly nocturnal ambush predator that waits in its silk for insects and other small arthropods to become trapped. Its glossy black body and red hourglass marking warn predators of a potent neurotoxic venom. Bites are rarely fatal to healthy adults but are medically significant and should be treated with caution.
- Type
- Venom / Stealth
- Conservation status
- NE