Black widows are tiny spiders that live all over the U.S. and throughout the world.
Until 1900, these spiders were known by a number of names. The black widow is a shiny black spider with a red, yellow or orange design on its abdomen which is often in the shape of an hourglass. Her male counterpart is more dark brown than he is black and he has white stripes running down the side of his abdomen. The pattern on his abdomen is dull and not well defined and he is only about a third the size of a black widow. The venom of a female black widow is more deadly, drop for drop, than rattlesnake venom and it is poisonous to insects and humans.