Located

The black widow spider can be found throughout parts of the United States, with the majority of them being found in the southwestern states. The Western Black Widow is found in the western part of the United States, as well as parts of Canada and Mexico.

Diet

The black widow will feed mostly on insects such as flies but will also eat centipedes, millipedes and other spiders.

Habitat

Black widows may be found in a variety of habitats. Although they can sometimes be found in houses, they usually choose a secluded area to build their web such as a woodpile.

Size

Approximate size of a black widow spider: Average size of a female is from .5 - 1.5 inches for the female dependent on species. Males are about half the size of females.

Reproduction

The reproduction process for the black widow is complex, this is only a brief summary of the process.

The female black widow lays egg sacs that have been fertilized by sperm from the male. The number of eggs in each sac varies from less than one hundred to more than 300. When the eggs hatch, most of the young will not survive due to cannibalism and environmental factors.