Southern black widow

The southern black widow is a small, shiny spider with a rounded body as black as a polished bead. She is quite shy and likes to stay hidden away. Underneath her round tummy she wears a bright red mark shaped like an hourglass — a beautiful splash of colour that says, gently, “please leave me be.” Most of the time she is tucked quietly out of sight, resting in her web.

She is a wonderful web-spinner. Instead of a neat wheel, she weaves a tangle of criss-crossing threads in a sheltered spot, like a woodpile, a quiet corner, or under a rock. Her silk is some of the strongest of any spider’s, and she can feel the tiniest wobble through it. When an insect wanders in, she knows at once that dinner has arrived.

The black widow catches insects to eat, and she has strong venom that helps her turn a wriggling bug into a still, easy meal. She would much rather run and hide than meet a person, and she only ever bites if she is squeezed by accident. The safest and kindest thing to do is simply to admire her from a little distance and never touch.

She is a caring and careful mother. When she lays her eggs, she wraps them snugly in a round, papery sac of silk to keep them safe. Then she guards her egg sac closely, staying near and watching over it. Inside, tiny spiderlings grow and hatch, and one day they climb out to begin lives of their own.

Southern black widows live across the warm parts of North America and down into Central and South America, in gardens, fields, and quiet sheltered places. There are still plenty of them, and they have not been listed as needing special protection. They do a helpful job, too — by catching lots of insects, this shy little spider quietly helps keep gardens in balance.