Two black widows in one day
9/01/2009 05:27:00 PM


For decades, I went through life seeing just one black widow spider -- and it was alive but enclosed in a created habitat at the Smithsonian Institution. I know they are found in Delaware because a friend of mind had to call in an exterminator a few years ago when she discovered her then-8-month-old son crawling on the same patio as a black widow.

But frankly, I never gave it much thought that they would be in my yard. Then, the other day, I went to throw away a spoiled lemon and I opened our municipal trash can and noticed a spider in a tangled mess of web back in the corner. I got a little closer and noticed it was glossy black. And then I saw the long legs and I started thinking, 'Could it really be a black widow?'

So I got a little closer and thought I saw the hourglass thing-y. But I wasn't sure. So I went in and got a camera and took some pictures. I told my teenage daughter about it so she could be careful.

So here's Lesson 1: If you tell a teenager there's a black widow living in the trash can -- forget about getting any help taking the trash out.

Lesson 2: If you have one black widow, you just might have more. I'll explain. So later that day, we came back from Rehoboth Beach and my daughter went over to our Delaware Solid Waste Authority curbside recycling bin to toss a piece of cardboard.

She stops midway there, recoils and shouts: "Spider! Black widow!"

And sure enough there was another one, reclined on the outside of the recycling bin.

Because it looked like it was dead or dying, I picked up a twig and looked underneath and there was the hourglass.

I'm curious why it died. At first, I thought it might have been food for a bird. Old age? Are we facing lots of black widow babies in our future? Then, I thought maybe black widows have their own space and they don't tolerate competition.

Any thoughts?

Labels: Delaware beaches, spiders, Wild Delaware, wildlife

 
Posted by Molly Murray