Difference between revisions of "Latrodectus geometricus"
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<font color="#800000">'''''Latrodectus geometricus'''''</font> Koch - (brown widow spider) | <font color="#800000">'''''Latrodectus geometricus'''''</font> Koch - (brown widow spider) | ||
| − | This is a venomous spider which occasionally invades peridomestic environments where it lives on insects. It may cause painful bites, but not as painful as for some other members of this genus. The species is believed to be native to Africa. It has been recorded from North America since 1935 and is found across the southern parts of the United States. It | + | This is a venomous spider which occasionally invades peridomestic environments where it lives on insects. It may cause painful bites, but not as painful as for some other members of this genus. The species is believed to be native to Africa. It has been recorded from North America since 1935 and is now found across the southern parts of the United States as well as in most other American countries. It has also spread to other tropical and subtropical regions, apparently through human trade activities. For example, it has been introduced into several Pacific Islands since 2006 ([[Journal of Medical Entomology (2015) 52, 1291-1298|Marie & Vetter, 2015]]) |
{{VN | {{VN | ||
|en=brown widow spider | |en=brown widow spider | ||
Latest revision as of 09:58, 17 February 2017
| Literature database |
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| 15 articles sorted by: |
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Author(s): Sturgis McKeever, Georgia Southern University
Source: IPM Images
Latrodectus geometricus Koch - (brown widow spider)
This is a venomous spider which occasionally invades peridomestic environments where it lives on insects. It may cause painful bites, but not as painful as for some other members of this genus. The species is believed to be native to Africa. It has been recorded from North America since 1935 and is now found across the southern parts of the United States as well as in most other American countries. It has also spread to other tropical and subtropical regions, apparently through human trade activities. For example, it has been introduced into several Pacific Islands since 2006 (Marie & Vetter, 2015)
| Vernacular names | |
|---|---|
| • Deutsch: | Braune Witwe |
| • English: | brown widow spider |
| • Español: | araña viuda marrón |
| • Français: | veuve brune |
A female can live for several years. Its body of is 1-2 cm long, up to 3 cm including the legs. Males are about half the size. The colour varies from light brown to black, often with elaborate patterns on the back of the abdomen. The hourglass pattern on the ventral side is common in all species of this genus. Egg sacks have characteristic spiny projections.
For details see the respective page in Wikipedia.
- Other images of Latrodectus geometricus (Wikimedia Commons and IPM Images - click to enlarge)
female with egg sack
