The prevalence of brown widow and black widow spiders (Araneae: Theridiidae) in urban southern California.

The ability of spiderlings of the widow spider Latrodectus hesperus (Araneae: Theridiidae) to pass through different size mesh screen: implications for exclusion from air intake ducts and greenhouses.

Experiments tested the ability of newly emerged spiderlings of a black widow spider, Latrodectus hesperus Chamberlin & Ivie (Araneae: Theridiidae), to crawl through brass screen of various mesh size. The purpose was to determine whether immatures of these medically important spiders could be excluded from buildings. In horizontal orientation, black widow spiderlings were able to easily pass thr...

Exposure of Brown Recluse and Brown Widow Spiders (Araneae: Sicariidae, Theridiidae) to a Commercial Sulfuryl Fluoride Fumigation.

The body of pesticide research on spiders is sparse with most studies using topical or residual applications to assess efficacy. Data on the effects of fumigation on spider survivorship are scarce in the scientific literature. In this study, we exposed adult male and female brown recluse spiders, Loxosceles reclusa Gertsch & Mulaik, and female brown widow spiders, Latrodectus geometricus C. L. ...

Brown widow spider bite (Loxosceles sp., Araneae, Sicariidae): A case report from Kashan, Iran

A 48-year-old woman who worked as a cleaner in a Kashan University of Medical Sciences dormitory received a spider bite while collecting garbage on a summer afternoon. She feltimmediate irritation on her arm. She noticed a spider, which she removed and killed. The irritation, itching, and redness on her arm continued. Her hand became edematous and painful after four days and she suffered from i...

Black Widow Spider Poisoning: A Preliminary Report on the Bite of the Black Widow Spider: So-Called Hour-Glass or Shoe-Button Spider(Lactrodectus Moctans).

Molecular Evolution of α-Latrotoxin, the Exceptionally Potent Vertebrate Neurotoxin in Black Widow Spider Venom

Black widow spiders (members of the genus Latrodectus) are widely feared because of their potent neurotoxic venom. α-Latrotoxin is the vertebrate-specific toxin responsible for the dramatic effects of black widow envenomation. The evolution of this toxin is enigmatic because only two α-latrotoxin sequences are known. In this study, ~4 kb α-latrotoxin sequences and their homologs were characteri...