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Photo#53863
Latrodectus variolus? - Latrodectus variolus

Latrodectus variolus? - Latrodectus variolus
The Woodlands, Montgomery County, Texas, USA
May 25, 2006
This was on our backyard fence. It looks a lot like http://bugguide.net/node/view/33989/bgpage , a Northern Black Widow. Can someone confirm or correct? Thanks for any help.

Latrodectus sp.
There's no easy way to distinguish L. variolus from L. mactans in this case. Dorsal markings aren't that uncommon in mactans. I believe variolus can be found that far south, but they're pretty rare.

Yes
I think you're right.

 
Doubtful.
You'd have to look to see if it has a broken hourglass on the underside, and even then it would be hard to tell. But, I don't think the northern widow gets that far south anyway. Remember, all black widows begin life with extensive pale and/or red markings, losing them gradually as they age. Some individuals may retain extensive red markings, like this one has, even after they have matured. My bet is that this is L. mactans.

 
I see your point.
You make good sense. We went out this morning to try to find it for more photos, but couldn't see it, so we may never know for sure. According to this page by Texas A&M the L. mactans is most common here, but the northern does show up in the eastern half of Texas, which is where we're located. So it could be either, but more likely mactans.

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