Concept in Definition ABC

One of the most poisonous spiders on the planet is found in vast territories of Mexico, the United States and Canada. Its scientific name is Latrodectus mactans, but it is better known as the black widow.

On the other hand, at a social and cultural level, it is used to describe women who committed serial murders of their respective spouses, generally based on economic interests, and in other cases driven by revenge, be it out of jealousy or some kind of conflict. It is a reality that has been manifested in novels and films, and is part of the popular society. Precisely, this reference is born from the particularities of the spider.

An animal with all kinds of curiosities

Females have a red hourglass-shaped sign on their abdomen, but males do not have this distinctive feature. Females are four times larger than males.

On beginning It is not an aggressive animal, but when it feels cornered it can react by biting. Its bite is very toxic and paralyzes the nervous system

of its victims. Its toxicity has been proven to be 15 times more potent than that of a rattlesnake. If a person is bitten, they can die if they do not receive the antidote in time. Thanks to your signal ID the rest of the animals know that the spider is poisonous.

Cobweb silk is extremely resistant, even stronger than the web itself steel. Scientists have tried to create a similar synthetic version, but have not succeeded.

Like the vast majority of animals, these spiders have their enemies, wasps. With their bite the spiders are paralyzed and finally die.

His reproduction she is subject to a singular process. First, the female emits a scent to attract the male's attention. Then both begin a courtship ritual. Then mating occurs and the male contributes his sperm. After copulation the female devours the male and for this reason she becomes the black widow (not all females are widowed, as some males manage to escape).

The 300-400 eggs accumulated after copulation are placed in a bag that is then woven with the silk made by the spider.

Although traditionally it has been believed that the female deliberately kills the male after copulation, it has been proven that it could be a simple myth.

Some researchers argue that the cause of death could be another, since at the time of separation the male has an injury to his apparatus player and for this reason ends up dying.

His role in World War II

During the war, American soldiers at Fort Knox in Kentucky had a special mission: to search for black widows.

The spiders were fed properly so that they could weave webs and thus obtain silk thread. The thread was used for the telescopic sights of some weapons.

Photos: Fotolia - Iordani / Therina Groenewald

Themes in Black Widow