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Photo#256617
Black Widow - Latrodectus mactans - female

Black Widow - Latrodectus mactans - Female
Sand Springs, Osage County, Oklahoma, USA
March 4, 2009
Size: 10mm (3/8") body
Found under a rock and it's a wonder she didn't bite me because my fingers were right next to her when I grabbed the rock to turn it over, but she didn't and was actually fairly cooperative. Although she did have a couple of "outbursts" after I got her in the container just from being messed with.
I caught a cricket, as you can see, and put it in with her to feed her but, as of this morning, she hadn't touched it. She did lunge at it last night but I think the cricket was just bothering her. She is fairly large so maybe she has already eaten and isn't hungry.
She's very dark, as you can see. And, the red markings on the top of her abdomen are very dark and difficult to see.
I believe this Widow is a mactans.
Please confirm.

Images of this individual: tag all
Black Widow - Latrodectus mactans - female Black Widow - Latrodectus mactans - female Black Widow - Latrodectus mactans - female Black Widow - Latrodectus mactans - female Black Widow - Latrodectus mactans - female Black Widow - Latrodectus mactans - female Black Widow - Latrodectus mactans - female Black Widow - Latrodectus mactans - female

L. Mactans
If you want it to eat the cricket, put some sticks in the container so that it will have something to build a web on. Black Widows (and almost all web-building spiders for that matter) are like fish out of water without a web.

And I must say that I've never seen a Southern Black Widow with an hourglass shaped quite like that... You have a very interesting specimen.

Southern black widow?
I'm fairly certain this is L. mactans...Interesting shape of the hourglass marking.

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