Southern Black Widow Spider Care Sheet

Southern Black Widow Spider
ADULT FEMALE with EGGSAC
Specimen provided by Frank Somma.
Photo taken by Jon Fouskaris.

The Southern Black Widow Spider is probably the most feared of all spiders. It has a reputation to try and bite anyone who comes near it, in an attempt to poison and kill them. This is false. Although the venom of the Southern Black Widow Spider is venomous to people, they attempt to escape, instead of biting a person. Normally, the Southern Black Widow Spider will curl up into a ball, and drop to the ground, if it has nowhere to run. The only time that a Black Widow Spider will definitely try to bite someone, is if she is guarding her eggsac. The Southern Black Widow Spider is one of the species with the infamous "red hourglass" marking on the underside of it's abdomen. Only the females are dangerous when it comes to any species of widow spider because the much smaller males do not bite. When keeping any species of widow spider in captivity, make sure that the tank it is in is escape-proof, and can not be shaken or dropped easily because widow spiders are very fragile, and their large abdomens can burst easily, which will cause death. Females live up to 3 years, while the males only live from 6 months to 1 year. The Southern Black Widow Spider makes for an interesting captive arachnid, although should be respected for it's powerful venom and only be kept by mature, responsible, experienced people who are aware of this.

Range	Parts of the central east coast and southeastern United States, as well as the West Indies.
Type	Arboreal.
Diet	Spiderlings eat flightless fruit flies, and pinhead crickets. Adults eat crickets, and other large insects.
Full Grown Size	1 to 2 inches.
Growth	Fast speed.
Temperature	70 to 90° F.
Humidity	55 to 70%.
Temperament	Semi-docile and nervous.
Housing	Spiderlings can live in a small clear plastic container with a hole in the center of the lid that is stuffed with a piece of cotton. Adults can live in a 2.5-gallon tank. Height is more important than floor space.
Substrate	1 inch of peat moss, potting soil, sand, or vermiculite.
Decor	Branches, vines, air plants, etc. make good hiding places and provide a base for the web.
Other Names	Hourglass Spider, and Shoe-Button Spider.

*Please note that ALL true spiders have a certain amount of venom. This species happens to have very strong venom. If you get bitten by it, there is a chance that you will die. This is one of the reasons that people should not handle this true spider. Affects of this true spiders' natural defenses may vary between people. This true spider is dangerous, so be very careful!