- Author: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
- Posted by: Lauren Fordyce
The invasive pest spotlight focuses on emerging or potential invasive pests in California. In this issue, we cover the brown widow spider.
Brown Widow Spider Facts
The brown widow spider became established in Southern California in 2000 and appears to be displacing the black widow in some of its habitats, especially in urban areas. They build their webs in secluded areas around homes and in vegetation. Mature female brown widows are smaller than mature female western black widows. The normal brown widow spider coloration is a mottled mixture of tan, brown, and gray. It has a lengthwise stripe halfway up the back side of the abdomen with two isolated dots in front of it and diagonal stripes on...
- Author: Mary Louise Flint
- Author: Rick Vetter
[From the February 2013 issue of the UC IPM Green Bulletin newsletter]
During the last 10 years, a new widow spider has moved into parts of Southern California. The brown widow spider, Latrodectus geometricus, is closely related to the well-known black widow spider, L. hesperus, (Figure 1) that occurs throughout much of California.
A recent survey of widow spiders in Southern California led by retired UC Riverside entomologist Richard Vetter revealed new information about the distribution of brown widows. Currently brown widow spiders...
