The False Black Widow is a comb clawed spider that is often confused with the true Black Widow. They can be found both indoors and outdoors, most often during warmer months. They live in cobwebs, typically near piles of rocks and wood or underneath tree bark. The False Black Widow has an oval abdomen that is less rounded than the Black Widow’s, and it does not have the red hourglass mark on its underside. The comb clawed spider will bite to defend itself, but these bites only cause mild local pain. The female can produce three or more egg sacs between May and July, each containing around 200 cream-colored eggs.
Spider Habits
Even though spiders are beneficial due to their role as predators of insects and other arthropods, they still are a common Northwest pest as many people fear or dislike spiders because of their looks, speed of travel and sometimes reactive bites. Most spider bites occur as a reaction or for protection at night when spiders are more likely to move about in our structures and when we may roll over them during our sleep or sit on one in a piece of furniture. This can be a disconcerting thought which is why many people like to control their populations inside while allowing them to perform their role of insect population control on the outside.
Biology of Spiders
Spiders resemble insects and sometimes are confused with them, but they are arachnids, not insects. Spiders have eight legs and two body parts: a head region (cephalothorax) and an abdomen. They lack wings and antennae. Although spiders often are found on plants, they eat mainly insects, other spiders, and related arthropods, not plants. Most spiders have toxic venom, which they use to kill their prey. However, only those spiders whose venom typically causes a serious reaction in humans are called “poisonous” spiders.
