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Spiders

Arachnids of the order Araneae, having a body divided into a cephalothorax bearing eight legs, two poison fangs, and two feelers and an unsegmented abdomen bearing several spinnerets that produce the silk used to make nests, cocoons, or webs for trapping insects.

Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.






Photo by FJ Santana, University of Florida IFAS Extension

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Brown Widow Spider
Lactrodectus geometricus

Characteristics – 
The brown widow spider is the one encountered by most people. Since the mouthparts (chelicerae) of the male are very small they are reputed to never bite. All encounters with humans and animals can be attributed to the female.

Widow Spiders have a black cephalothorax (united head and thorax), "hour glass" marking on dark colored abdomen and long slender legs.

Color: Close examination of the brown widow spider shows that the base coloration is more correctly described as a dark brown or mahogany.