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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Arachnids (Arachnida) » Spiders (Araneae) » True Spiders (Araneomorphae) » Entelegynes » Cobweb Spiders (Theridiidae) » Widow spiders (Latrodectus)
Photo#179112
Doorway Spider - Latrodectus - male
Copyright © 2008 Krissallae

Doorway Spider - Latrodectus - Male
Morrisville, Durham County, North Carolina, USA
April 26, 2008
Size: around 5 mm
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Contributed by Krissallae on 26 April, 2008 - 6:20pm
Last updated 27 April, 2008 - 10:57am

Looks
like a male Latrodectus mactans.

Two inches is awful large though. Was that including the legs?
… Jay Barnes, 26 April, 2008 - 6:34pm login or register to post comments

 
legs
yes, that was including the legs. My first thought was a black widow, but the extra color/markings threw me off. I've only see them in Arizona and they're much "shinier" looking that him.
… Krissallae, 27 April, 2008 - 3:18pm login or register to post comments

 
Yes
a male widow for sure. I still haven't figured out how to distinguish the Northern Widow male from the Southern male, and since their range overlaps, I'm moving this to the genus level for now. I also changed the size from the 2 inches originally posted to 5mm. Spiders are measured by body size only. They do look around 2 inches with the legs included.

Male widows aren't dangerous.
… Lynette Schimming, 27 April, 2008 - 10:55am login or register to post comments

 
Lynette,
Thanks for catching my assumption. I completely forgot to check the northern widow range.
… Jay Barnes, 28 April, 2008 - 9:42am login or register to post comments

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