Why is the black widow spider named as "black widow"?
371444
It's called so because after the mating ritual, the female spider (about 3-5 times larger than the male) is hungry and tired, and so if the male is unlikely, he will end up being her dinner. So, the female spider ends up husband-less (widow).\n\nAbout the black - i'm not sure if it's just because she's black in color. I interpret black metaphorically, as in the practice of her eating the man she's just had sex with is quite 'cannibalistic' and therefore, 'black'/cruel in nature.\n\nI also saw on National Geographic that the male spiders know this (as in going to be eaten), but they go ahead and mate because it is also their nature to want to procreate (sow the seeds). So, they leave it up to fate (or their legs) as to whether they live to f**k another day, or die but achieved their objective to breed the next generation carrying his genes.\n\nWho was it said "life sucks", coz he is damn right on that! =P
1004462
Read this and your knowledge of the Black Widow will flourish!\nhttp://www.desertusa.com/july97/du_bwindow.html
71822
matters how scared u r of them if u r terrified and u leave the house if you see one, then u probably need help lol....exposure to them is the best way. first start off small like look @ them on pictures and stuff and then work ur way up to watching movies about them(dicovery chaneel and pbs not 8 legged freaks) and then go lookin for them. watch them there pretty neat. I feed a black widow in my backyard every now and then when im back there its pretty cool how they work. im not helping am i ? lol......
1139605
Black Widow Spider\nThey spin irregular webs in crevices and other dark, protected spots.The female's bite, poisonous to humans, is followed by local pain and swelling, nausea, and difficulty in breathing and is sometimes fatal. \n\nBrown Recluse Spider\nIt spins a sheet web that may be found in secluded areas among rocks or in houses. The bite causes a long-lasting sore that involves tissue death, and severe reactions to it may become life-threatening.\n\nCrab Spider\n Crab spiders do not spin webs to trap prey, but hunt on the open ground or on vegetation or flowers. In this, they resemble other free-living spiders such as jumping spiders and wolf spiders.\n\nGo to my source 4 pics
658467
like it's already been stated, with spiders the female tends to be larger, also in some cases the female will eat the male when the fertilization is complete.\n\nBut as for a special chamber inside the female to store the male...never heard of that
260282
Ultima Spider (Pacific Northwest) \nBrown Recluse (North America) \nBlack Widow Spider (North America) \nDaddy Long Leg (Worldwide) \nHobo Spider (North America)
81668
along came the spider
812064
Well if it was similar in appearance to a black widow it is most likely in the same family (Theriididae) they are actually a very common family throughout the world. Many juvenile and male widows are colored in this manner, typically mottled, with red, yellow and black markings. It is possible that the spider you saw is in fact a widow (Latrodectus spp.).\nWhen young spiders are present, there is no real danger, they are not aggressive and can actually be handled without danger, but if the species in question is new to you, just handle it like you did, that was the best way to handle the situation.\nIf in fact the nest belonged to that spider, then it is most likely not a true widow, becasue in that area, the adults are the typical black with red hourglass, so then there would be no need to worry.\n\nhere are some images of young widows to compare it to\nhttp://bugguide.net/node/view/80826\nhttp://bugguide.net/node/view/73801\nhttp://bugguide.net/node/view/26128\nhttp://bugguide.net/node/view/13097\n\n\n\nhope this helps!
754988
spider\n???????????????
448488
Black Widow is considered the most venomous spider in North America.\n\nThe venom of the black widow spider is 15 times as toxic as the venom of the prairie rattlesnake.\n\nA group of spiders that is dangerous in many countries belongs to the genus Latrodectus in the Family Theridiidae. In Australia we have the Redback Spider (Latrodectus hasselti). In America, a common representative of this genus is the Black Widow (Latrodectus mactans).\n\ni would say that they are as dangerous as each other but the black widow killed more than the red back
1135610
here are some websites if you match the spider up to any of the pictures then just read about it but i dont think it is anything like a black (black with red hourglass shape on back) or a brown recluse because it has a huge white butt and white stripes or dots \nhttp://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dbrown%2Brecluse%26sp%3D1%26fr2%3Dsp-top%26ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3DFP-tab-img-t-t400%26ei%3DUTF-8%26SpellState%3Dn-1248453388_q-mmgWoC1th5cTV6Vfxa5u%2FAABAA%40%40&w=300&h=328&imgurl=www.calpoison.com%2Fpublic%2Fbrown-recluse.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.calpoison.com%2Fpublic%2Fspiders.html&size=41.3kB&name=brown-recluse.jpg&p=brown+recluse&type=jpeg&no=7&tt=5,138&ei=UTF-8
938401
different versions of widows
1063669
yes there is a spider and a spider web. the spider is located in the top right corner on the face of the bill. it sits on the frame going around the 1 and its in the upper left of the frame. looks like a tiny dot with legs. i have never heard of there being an owl however. i know it is a spider becuase he made the web! And the "little dot" has several legs unlike an owl! i believe those little dots on the spiders body are his eyes.
667090
This is like asking for the length of lifespan for mamamals and expecting one answer (i.e. cats vs humans).\n\nBelow is a link for spiders but the different species of spiders live and develop at different rates.\n\nThe arachnid family also includes scorpions, ticks and mites.
347054
More imformation would deffinently help. It is pretty much impossible to tell from the info you gave. What do you mean octagon spider? Does that refer to the web? Some helpful info would be the color, size, and shape of the spider, the shape, size, and location of the web, and where you found the spider (state, country, ect.). Any other information would also help. \n\nAnother thing to consider is that all spiders (other than a small, rare family) have venom. It is unlikely that they are very harmful, but again, I would need more information to say that for sure. Try a field guide (library is a good place to look) and see if you can find what kind it is, then research that one. If you want, post some more info here, and I will try to find it.
475647
This question is a bit misleading... only SOME species of spider die soon after laying their eggs. Many will live on for years and can reproduce several times.\n\nAs to those few which do die; reproduction is a very costly endeavor for any organism and this could diminish the spider's resources. Evolutionarily speaking, the only goal it to get one's genetic material to the next generation, that done, the organism is simply taking up habitat.
902800
There are probably a lot of spiders that would fit\nyour description. More information is needed, such\nas where (geographically) the spider was seen, in\nwhat kind of habitat and at what time of year.  The\nvarious other answers mostly mention the garden\nor writing spider (Argiope), but it might qualify as\na large spider, depending on what you consider\nlarge.  Another eastern U.S. spider that sometimes\nhas a bright yellow mark and is smaller is another\nof the orb spiders, Verrucosa, which has a triangular abdomen and gets about a half inch long\nin body length.