Posted by Hart Holland on July 24, 2006

Q: Morning, We have caught a light brown spider with a few small black dots on the body. Also has a bright orange hour glass on the belly. We're thinking it's a black widow but it's not black. Any ideas. I do have pictures.

Habitat: suburban/yard

State: South Carolina

Habitat: suburban/yard

A: Spiders come in such an array of patterns and colors that it's difficult to identify them. I don't know of a Black Widow that's not black nor other spiders with an hourglass on their abdomen so I'm a bit puzzled by your animal. Please send a photo and I'll see what I can find out.

John Wiessinger ( July 24, 2006)

A: Thanks for the photos - very helpful. As I looked at your spider, I could see it sure looked to me like a Black Widow, but without the black coloration. Well, I did some research and found that there is indeed a Brown Widow (Latrodectus geometricus) that looks like yours that has been introduced into Florida and it occurred to me that S.C. is not far away!

I would treat this spider with real care. You might even want to freeze it and provide it for someone to check out (local wildlife authorities/college professor/conservation dept). According to my info, the Brown Widow is much less likely to bite and if it does, injects less venom than the Black Widow so this is not a life-threatening animal but special care needs to be taken. Maybe a population of these spiders has moved into your area and if so, people shouldn't be frightened but certainly need to know what it looks like. My best to you and thanks for your question.

John Wiessinger ( July 24, 2006)