Brown Widow Spiders Becoming More Prevalent In California
redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports – Your Universe Online First
discovered in Florida in 1935, Brown widow spiders are still
considerably new to North America. However, after being
discovered in southern California in 2003, they have been so
successful that they may be displacing native black widow
spiders. Researchers believe that the overall hazard to
homeowners may decrease because brown widow spider bites are
less toxic than those of native western black widow spiders. In
the Journal of Medical Entomology study, titled “The Prevalence
of Brown Widow and Black Widow Spiders (Araneae: Theridiidae) in
Urban Southern California,” the authors describe the results of
their efforts to document the presence of brown widows in
southern California. They conducted timed searches in various
habitats, such as urban properties, agricultural lands, parks,
and not fully formed natural areas. They also included the
native western black widow spider to compare the abunda