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Wisconsin spider indentification
Sig220_Ruger77
Member Posts: 12,748 ✭✭✭
I know pictures would be the easiest way to solve this, but I was not able to gather any.
Long story short, I was putting an AC unit in our house window and this black spider crawled across the AC and into the AC unit before could catch him. It was a fairly small spider, but had a decent sized round abdomen and was solid black. Smooth and shiny black too. I have never seen one like it here in Wisconsin. Any guesses or help?
Note: Just so there is no confusion, this AC unit has been in our possession for 3 years and just came up from our basement, where it is stored in the winter months.
Jon
Long story short, I was putting an AC unit in our house window and this black spider crawled across the AC and into the AC unit before could catch him. It was a fairly small spider, but had a decent sized round abdomen and was solid black. Smooth and shiny black too. I have never seen one like it here in Wisconsin. Any guesses or help?
Note: Just so there is no confusion, this AC unit has been in our possession for 3 years and just came up from our basement, where it is stored in the winter months.
Jon
Comments
In doing some research, there are black widow spiders in Wisconsin. I had no idea that they could survive our winters....
I also came across a "False Black Widow" that existed in Wisconsin. It sounds like that one is much more common?
Jon
I'm sure it was a black widow and it probably did just fine in your basement, that would be an excellent place to find one. They build a messy web usually low near the ground, look for that and you may find a few more.
Thanks for the heads-up. I suppose I should do some digging now, so I don't accidently uncover one later.
Kind of funny how unsettling it becomes when that spider that has been in your house, without you knowing, becomes known to exist. [:p]
Jon
Got bit by one carrying wood in from the wood pile and the next day was in the ER. Thumb turned black and hurt like hell...
In doing some research, there are black widow spiders in Wisconsin. I had no idea that they could survive our winters....
I also came across a "False Black Widow" that existed in Wisconsin. It sounds like that one is much more common?
Given your location and the lack of red markings, this is more likely to be the false black widow (Steatoda grossa).
Wisconsin primarily has northern black widows (Latrodectus variolus). Unlike other black widow species, northern black widows retain red markings on their backs as adults. (They also have a broken red hourglass under the abdomen.) If you didn't see any red markings on either side, it's not a widow.
The false black widow is similar in shape to true widows (it's in the same family). The mature female is solid black and lacks an hourglass marking under the abdomen. False widows are not medically significant.
quote:Originally posted by Sig220_Ruger77
In doing some research, there are black widow spiders in Wisconsin. I had no idea that they could survive our winters....
I also came across a "False Black Widow" that existed in Wisconsin. It sounds like that one is much more common?
Given your location and the lack of red markings, this is more likely to be the false black widow (Steatoda grossa).
Wisconsin primarily has northern black widows (Latrodectus variolus). Unlike other black widow species, northern black widows retain red markings on their backs as adults. (They also have a broken red hourglass under the abdomen.) If you didn't see any red markings on either side, it's not a widow.
The false black widow is similar in shape to true widows (it's in the same family). The mature female is solid black and lacks an hourglass marking under the abdomen. False widows are not medically significant.
The red markings are really hard to see underneath a hammerhead!
Jon
If you're reaching in a place where you might think widows are, just put on a pair of gloves; they can't bite through those.
I agree with Slippers, more likely the false black widow. For what it is worth, Black widows are common here, I once collected 20 in 2 hours for a South African colleague without ever getting out of my yard. Bites have become far less common since the middle of the last century. Indoor plumbing has been a good thing in many ways.
I collected 11 in 5 minutes last year,..right in my garden.[:0] I had some that were the size of a nickel[xx(]
OK now you are bragging, but at least you didn't say they were the size of ducks.
They can be very common, and don't cause much harm. I draw the line when they are in or on the house, otherwise leave them alone.
Did it look similar to this?
When I was in college I came home to visit for Christmas or something and a brown recluse had decided it liked my bed. Never felt it bite me, just had a weird blister the next day. The day after that I could barely walk and went off to the Doc in the Box. They cored a big chunk of meat out of my leg and shot me up with a bunch of something. I still have a nasty scar to remind me that I do not like spiders....
And you were one of the lucky ones
quote:I had some that were the size of a nickel
OK now you are bragging, but at least you didn't say they were the size of ducks.
They can be very common, and don't cause much harm. I draw the line when they are in or on the house, otherwise leave them alone.
I have literaly hundreds of them. I give them a wide berth since a bite from one spurred a mrsa Infection in my neighbor and he had to have a heart catheter for 2 weeks.