Once upon a time... Actually, it was this past weekend... But, no matter... Let me restart...
Once upon a time, I spied this:
Here is a closeup shot:
{To see a slightly bigger picture, go here.}
Doesn't it have pretty markings? Do NOT be deceived.
I calmly went inside and interrupted Dan in his work (putting down flooring in closets). I asked him to come with me. I showed him what I first saw (the black beetle) and explained to him that I thought "Black Widow". I took him through my steps and told him my reasoning in still thinking "Black Widow" and then showed him where the spider was located. I think Dan was a little startled.
Dan happened to have a long piece of flooring in his hand that was ready to be cut (which is why I was not helping him -- he was doing custom cuts in the closets). He used that piece of flooring to gently persuade it to come down.
Its behavior definitely screamed Black Widow. It would dashed behind the egg sack and curl up in a ball. And, then dash back out onto the web. Then it would repeat the cycle all over again. I was screaming at Dan to be careful the whole time.
Eventually, he got it down on the grass; so, that we could see the proof in the pudding.
The trademark red hourglass.
Note: Both Dan and I absolutely hate killing critters unless we KNOW it is venomous. Many Spiders are beneficial critters. There are only FIVE poisonous spiders in the states out of thousands species. Yes, five. Most people think four; but, there are now five due to the Brown Widow spider making an appearance quite some time ago in Florida and has since been found in all southern states.
This was only our second sighting of a black widow and I think we now can be positively sure that whenever we spy one of these, we know it is a Black Widow. We will immediately kill it along with destroying the egg sac if one exists. As much it saddens me to kill a beautiful critter, we cannot take chances. And, we do NOT want babies running about.
Needless to say, after I took the closeup macro shots, every nerve in my body was standing on end and that feeling lingered for awhile. It was VERY scary for me to be so close to a venomous spider; but, I was determined to take closeup (macro) pictures.
I think I understand why people get hooked on that adrenaline rush feeling from events like bungee jumping. I have never really experienced that rush before to such an extent; but, that feeling is not for me! It took me awhile to calm down completely.
Now then, I want to point out something.
By the way, do you see that curled up black thing in the last picture above? That is a LIVING spider. Do NOT assume they're dead. NEVER ever assume they are dead.
I have more spider pictures (different ones) and will show those later. I think this is enough for now, don't you think?
Yikes! Thanks for the lesson on black widows. Good to know. I thank you for taking the photos and sharing the info. I'm like you, I hate killing living things, even insects. But sometimes you really have no choice.
ReplyDeleteCan't say I've ever seen a BW spider in "person," but you never know. I don't usually get close enough.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing at YSB this week, Lee Ann. :)
Nice shots! You were very brave. Big spiders are scary even if we don't have poisonous spiders here in Finland.
ReplyDeleteHoly crap. I really wanted to zoom in on the photo, but couldn't bring myself to do it. I am not a fan of arachnids!
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