Red widow spiders have entirely red-brown bodies, with the exception of their black abdomen. ©Florida Division of Plant Industry Archive / CC BY 3.0 US, via Wikimedia Commons – Original ...

An invasive spider with a nasty bite is spreading its population across New Zealand - prompting warnings from experts.

This variation in coloring means that black widow spiders can be tricky to spot if they aren’t black and red females. 2. Only female spiders bite … usually.

Editor’s note: This article was updated at 5:35 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17, 2023, to correct that the red hourglass shape is on black widow spider’s abdomens. Originally Published: November 17, 2023 ...

Arguably one of the most iconic spiders in the world, the black widow spider (Latrodectus mactans) is an arthropod with an unmistakable identity.This jet-black arachnid ranges from 0.2 to 0.5 ...

Both species of widow spiders have glove-shaped abdomens and long legs, with females generally being larger than males. Female black widows are glossy black, featuring a red hourglass pattern on ...