Species group · Arachnids
WAnimals has 2 species of widow spider, in the family Theridiidae.
Ranges calculated from the profiles that record the figure, not from all 2.
Each one has its own full profile. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.
No species documented in this group is genuinely at risk according to the IUCN, with the data available today.
Recorded in 29 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:
It has 13 red spots on its abdomen; it occurs in Spain but is very unaggressive.
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Historically it caused outbreaks of latrodectism among harvesters in Spain, Italy and the Balkans, when hand reaping coincided with the peak abundance of the females.
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Only the adult female can bite effectively: the male is minute and his chelicerae cannot pierce human skin.
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The male courts the female by plucking the threads of her web to identify himself before mating.
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It catches insects and small arthropods that become tangled in its irregular web.
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Its venom is up to 15 times more potent than a rattlesnake's, though the dose delivered is rarely fatal to a healthy adult.
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