What Is a Black Widow Spider? The black widow is a medium-sized spider about a half-inch long. Three species are common to the United States: The black widow spider produces a venom that affects ...

The pop mythology surrounding the female black widow’s potent venom and characteristic ... more likely to attack the plain black spiders than the faux black widows. Smaller birds were especially ...

If you suspect you’ve been bitten by a black widow spider, seek immediate medical attention. While these bites typically aren’t life threatening, they require quick treatment to avoid ...

Fortunately, fatalities are fairly rare; the spiders are nonaggressive and bite only in self-defense, such as when someone accidentally sits on them. The animals most at risk from the black widow' ...

Do female black widow spiders really eat their mates? Find out this and other facts about this distinct group of arachnids. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate ...

In the spider world, even predators are hunted. Biologists in regions of the Southern U.S. noticed that the iconic black widow spider — known for its telltale hourglass mark and venomous bite ...

Pandora Dewan is a Senior Science Reporter at Newsweek based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on science, health and technology. Pandora joined Newsweek in 2022 and previously worked as the ...

The black widow spider grows larger than brown recluse spiders overall. You can find black widow spiders around the world, while brown recluse spiders only live in the southern or Midwestern ...

One woman's snack break turned sour last week when she reached into a bag of grapes and felt the bite of a venomous black widow spider. The 21-year-old Vermonter survived the ordeal, but some ...

The painful bites and lethal venom of black widow spiders have evolved rapidly over the years, according to a new study that also found common house spiders produce similar toxic compounds.