What do Immature Black Widows Look Like?

There you are standing in your kitchen when you hear your little two year old say, “Bug, bug.” You look down to see a creepy dark spiny spider slowly crawling straight toward your child. Just before you smash the spider you notice some type of pattern on the back of the spider and wonder, “Was that a young black widow?” So let’s discuss how to identify the small black widows and what to do to prevent them.

Immature Black Widow Picture

If you search for an image of an immature Black Widow online you’ll get all kinds of results. Many of these results are inaccurate or even a different type of spider all together. Here I’ve inserted an image of a black widow that emphasises the defining characteristic of Black Widows: the pattern on the abdomen. Many people mistakenly believe that if there isn’t a red triangle or hourglass it isn’t a black widow. The truth is immature black widows and male black widows have a variety of patterns. And where there are immature black widows and male black widows there’s bound to the be the dreaded adult female widow. Now notice the pattern on this widow. Remember the pattern may vary, however a spiny brown to black spider just smaller than a dime or even larger than a quarter can be an immature black widow or adult male black widow. They go through 4 to 9 stages of growth and each stage has different coloration and patterns. I’ve found the give away is the spiny legs and white dots on the brown body.