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I was sitting on my favourite chair underneath my lapa when I've spotted this spider web underneath my bum!!

Herewith the nest..it's about the size of a pea:



Next photo, I've opened the web a bit:



And here is the spider:



Better picture with the spider on it's back (note the orange marking on it's back):



Is this a black widow? I've killed it!!

it does look like one....

Could be a Brown widow.

I was bitten by one once, not a good experience.

Thanks for the video CC....beautiful music though!



I agree Siobain. It looks like a Brown Widow.

I found this on the internet:

"Brown Widows can be located by finding their eggsacks, which are easily identifiable. They resemble a sandspur, having pointed projections all over, and they are sometimes described as "spiky" in appearance. Eggs hatch in approximately 20 days (Jackman 2006, p. 2).

Like all Latrodectus species, L. geometricus has a medically significant neurotoxic venom. Dr. G.B. Edwards, a University of Florida arachnologist claims that brown widow venom is twice as potent as the black widow venom, but is usually confined to the bite area and surrounding tissue, as opposed to the Black Widow. Other sources say that the brown widow is less venomous than L. mactans. Regardless, people who have been bitten typically describe the experience as very painful and extreme care should be taken when working or playing in the areas they inhabit."

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectus_geometricus )

The photo of the Brown Widow on the net looks the same as the one that I've saw.

What happened after you were bitten Sioban?

Hi TheunsH,

Went walking outside in the dark without a torch, walked through a bit of
webbing didn't think too much of it, went inside climbed into bed and
then it bit me. Obviously it had stuck to me and as lay down i started
squashing it.

It felt as though my leg was on fire the pain was excruciating, stays for several days.

Lucky for me it was a small specimen.
I have seen some really magnificent ones, i can't bring myself to kill
the ones i see in the garden, but if they come inside i do because once those egg sacks hatch there are millions of them.

Thanks for the reply Siobain!

I think someone (maybe it was Bushsnake) has mentioned this before.
We do not have widows in South Africa. They are from the same genus Latrodectus but are different species and are called 'Button spiders'

Widows if I remember correctly are found in the Americas, North Africa and Asia.
In Australia you'll find the Redback.

Hi Johann and thanks for the info. I had a look on the internet and have found the following:

"Latrodectus is a genus, in the family Theridiidae, that contains approximately 31 recognized species of venomous spider. The common name widow spiders is often used to refer to members of the genus. The Black Widow spiders are well known members of the genus."

"The spider Latrodectus geometricus, commonly known as the brown widow, grey widow, brown button spider, or geometric button spider, is one of the widow spiders in the genus Latrodectus. As such, it is a "cousin" to the more famous black widow spider."

"The brown widow is found in parts of the northeastern and southern United States (including Florida, Alabama, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas); as well as in parts of Australia, South Africa and Cyprus. The origin of this species is uncertain, as specimens were independently discovered in both Africa and in the Americas. They are usually found around buildings in tropical areas."

"But there are widow spiders on every continent of the world except for Antarctica. The single species occurring in Australia, Latrodectus hasselti, has Redback as one common name; African species of this genus are sometimes known as button spiders."


It seems that it's the same spider with different names in America, Africa and Australia.

(Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectus_geometricus , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widow_spider )

What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. - Juliet, in Romeo and Juliet, by Shakespeare.

Or something close to that. 1981 is far back...

I found the page I referred to earlier. It was actually Scorpionking and not Bushsnake. Have look here at what he said.

Your pics then are that of a Brown Button.

Wikipedia does have loads of info but I'm inclined not to always believe everything 100% on there. You must remember that the info can supplied by anyone and they might not necessarily be an expert on the subject. I know that Scorpionking and Bushsnake are experts by reputation so I would listen to what they've got to say.

Thanks for the link Johann!



Sure I agree with you, I'm also inclined not to always believe everything I read on Wikipedia, but that applies to other sources as well.

I’m not an expert on spiders so I have to rely on what the experts are saying!

According to Dr Ansie Dippenaar-Schoeman, a Specialist Scientist at the ARC-Plant Protection Research Institute, Spider Research Centre, Pretoria, six species of button spiders belonging to the genus Latrodectus of the family Theridiidae are found in South Africa and that the button spiders can be divided into the black button spider complex (4 species) and the brown button spider complex (2 species.) She also states that button spiders are elsewhere in the world known as widow spiders.

According to the Australian Venom Research Unit redback spiders are members of the widely distributed Latrodectus genus known as widow spiders.

I therefore understand that button spiders (southern Africa) and redback spiders (Australia) are a common name use to refer to local members of the spider genus, Latrodectus, the family Theridiidae which spiders are also known as widow spiders elsewhere in the world. Can’t I then say that a redback, button and widow spiders are all the same thing?

It seems that there are three recognized species of black widow found in North America and the southern black widow (L.mactans) is one of them. So I will agree that Africa doesn’t have a species of black widow spiders known as L. mactans but we do have 4 species of black widow spiders known as L. cinctus, L. indistinctus, L. karooensis and L. renivulvatus.

I need help please!




bishop, I think you are spot-on!

(Sources: http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2005/a ... spider.htm , http://www.avru.org/compendium/biogs/A000006b.htm , http://www.rmgh.net/wiki/index.php?titl ... dow_Spider )

A Canadian friend on a hunting list I'm on put it in perspective some time ago when a spider came up and I called it a button and they called it a widow. (Think it were those photos of a button catching the small snake.)

DJ's words were something to the effect that over there such a poisonous spider is serious stuff, where there's bear, wolves, snakes and puma, and not much else, that can kill you. There it is a widow - serious stuff! Over here it is merely a button. There's so many things that can get you here, that a mere spider is infinitesimal in the bigger scheme of things!

And for a different perspective, we were discussing temperatures as well one time. He says when they barbeque (braai) outside in winter, they put their beer in the snow to keep warm. If they hold it in their hands or put it on the table it freezes!

I do find all this talk quite interesting - thanks for all the info on all sides.

my friends found one similer to that one! I have her poor dead body still. But I took pictures of her before she fell to the meds my freinds dowesed her with!





I have no clue what kind she is either! Id love to know the name if she has one. When they found her she had tons of lil ones with her. She's really quite pretty and I live in south carolina. Iv never seen one like this I always see the black ones.

Has anyone seen the brown widow spider in the West Coast National Park (Langebaan)? I am doing my honours project on them and I need them in a natural setting. They occur mostly among man-made structures, but I want to see the natural setting in which they occur. Any help will be most appreciated

Brown button spiders are cosmopolitan. They occur just about everywhere. Which species of Brown button spider are you working on?

What is the focus of your study?

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