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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Arachnids (Arachnida) » Spiders (Araneae) » True Spiders (Araneomorphae) » Entelegynes » Cobweb Spiders (Theridiidae) » Widow Spiders (Latrodectus) » Western Black Widow (Latrodectus hesperus)
Photo#331365
Patten leather looking spider/ need a name please. - Latrodectus hesperus
Copyright © 2009 Jackie kay Thirsk

Patten leather looking spider/ need a name please. - Latrodectus hesperus
Colorado Springs, Elpaso County, Colorado, USA
September 10, 2009
Size: about 1"
We found this one outside, in our wheelbarrow, trying to make a home I think. It was very shiny, like patten leather. About 3/4 to 1" length, with long and shorter legs.
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Contributed by Jackie kay Thirsk on 10 September, 2009 - 6:49pm
Last updated 3 October, 2009 - 10:19am

Moved
Moved from Spiders. Western Black Widow.
… Lynette Schimming, 3 October, 2009 - 10:19am login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from ID Request.
… v belov, 25 September, 2009 - 9:17am login or register to post comments

widow?
Looks similar to a widow of some sort to me... Definitely wait for someone more knowledgeable, but to me it looks similar to this, or one of the other widows.
… Katherine Norton, 10 September, 2009 - 7:52pm login or register to post comments

I'm not remotely an expert, but it looks like a widow
This reminds me of one of the widows (genus Latrodectus), of which some species are black widows. It might turn out to be harmless; however, you might want to avoid handling it until someone with more knowledge checks in.
… Peter Edelman, 10 September, 2009 - 7:51pm login or register to post comments

 
Expert enough:-)
That is definitely an immature black widow. Believe it or not, widows start out white, gradually losing the pale markings as they age. Males mature faster, in fewer molts, so they never lose their bold markings entirely. Some individual females will also retain some dorsal red markings in addition to the ventral "hourglass."
… Eric R. Eaton, 11 September, 2009 - 1:01pm login or register to post comments

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