Starship Asterisk*

Boomer12k wrote:Interesting...never heard of it before... will try to get a shot of it this summer if possible....

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectus wrote:

[b][color=#0000FF]Western black widow (L. hesperus) hourglass-shaped markings[/color][/b]

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<<Latrodectus is a genus of spiders in the family Theridiidae, most of which are commonly known as widow spiders. The genus contains 31 recognized species distributed worldwide, including the North American black widows (L. mactans, L. hesperus, and L. variolus), the button spiders of Africa, and the Australian redback spider. Species vary widely in size. In most cases, the females are dark-colored and readily identifiable by reddish hourglass-shaped markings on the abdomen.

The southern black widow, as well as the closely related western and northern species which were previously considered the same species, has a prominent red hourglass figure on the underside of its abdomen. Many of the other widow spiders have red patterns on a glossy black or dark background, which serve as a warning. The venomous bite of these spiders is considered particularly dangerous because of the neurotoxin latrotoxin, which causes the condition latrodectism, both named for the genus. The female black widow has unusually large venom glands and its bite can be particularly harmful to humans. However, despite the genus' notoriety, Latrodectus bites are rarely fatal. Only female bites are dangerous to humans.>>