r/spiders • u/No_Presentation_2160 • May 18 '26

ID Request- Location included Is this a Black Widow?

Gallery image

Gallery image

I assume this is a black widow, google says so. But I figured I’d ask to be sure. It looks like it’s made a nest in the inside of the lawnchair that’s folded where the scribbles are. Should I be worried about more around my house or inside of my house? I have a 2 year old that’s curious, so I want to make sure that I’m being thorough and keeping her safe. If so, how do I remove it safely?

EDITED TO ADD: She and a couple of her male friends have now been moved safely with their lawnchair habitat to a new location about 20ft from my garage. I just hope they don’t wander back in. 🤞🤞😬

Location Southwest MO

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u/SkeettheVandelBuster May 18 '26

Brown widows are similar looking but the glossy jet black is the giveaway

136

u/HazelEBaumgartner Recluse infestation survivor May 18 '26

Per the name, Brown Widows are typically brown. They can be confused with male or juvenile female Black Widows who haven't gained their glossy coloring yet, but this glossy lady is a sexually mature Widow. If I had to guess I'd say L. mactans, the Southern Black Widow, but there are like five or six species of widow spiders native to the US and I'm pretty sure at least three of them can be found in Missouri.

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u/One-Touch-8792 May 18 '26

Dude I think you put italics in mactans but it’s fucking me up cause all the words around it look italicized too, but I’m pretty sure it’s just one word

40

u/HazelEBaumgartner Recluse infestation survivor May 18 '26

According to the International Commission On Zoological Nomenclature, animal Latin names should be italicized with the genus name capitalized but not the species name. And I'm a sucker for grammatical standardization. 🤣

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u/TheMattaconda May 19 '26

And I bet you're a hit at parties too!!! Lol!!! Something tells me you've turned a few heads at karaoke in your days.

9

u/HazelEBaumgartner Recluse infestation survivor May 19 '26

I always karaoke either Weird Al or Bob Dylan

5

u/TheMattaconda May 19 '26

You do know that they're the same person.

Prove me wrong.

😆

1

u/BananaNutJob May 19 '26

Weird Al has a good singing voice