OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Today's visit takes us to the Butterfly & Insect Pavilion to get an up-close look at one of the world's most feared spiders.
- We focus on the western black widow spider, which is native to Nebraska, and one of 36 different species of black widows across the globe..
- VIDEO shows the incredible difference between females and males.
- We try to feed the female but she was a bit camera shy!
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Spiders and Halloween go hand in hand – and this spider is one of the most feared.
“The black widow — more specifically the western black widow spider,” Keeper Julie Schlichte introduced us.
Just one of 36 different species of black widow.
“The western black widow is native to Nebraska — it occurs all in the western part of the united states," Schlichte said. “You’re not probably going to find her just running around the kitchen or anything, you’d have to be in a darker area. Old barns, cleaning out the shed — that’s where you’re more likely to run into one.”
The females are pretty easy to identify.
“That black with the red mark — the adult females will have that iconic look," Schlichte explained. "But they can also come in shades of brown, little bit more grey.”
The males on the other hand —
“This is a full-grown male. So the females, you can see, are more than 20 times bigger than the males, and the males don’t have that iconic hourglass mark. They’re a little bit more brown.”
A bite from a female black widow can kill.
“But it’s been years and years, and it’s usually someone who is immunocompromised, a really little kid, or an older person,” Schlichte explained.
She says you should seek medical attention immediately if bitten, but really, you shouldn't have to worry about it.
“They’re not aggressive, they’re not going to come after you or try and bite you. They’re actually really shy," Schlichte said. "They like to hide away and are only really active during night, but they are really good moms. So if you do bump into their web, they will protect their egg sack, and it is possible that you do get bit.”
“Save a spider, don’t squish a spider, please. The eat so many insects, and eat a lot of insects that do cause us harm all the time, like mosquitoes.”
For those insects – the way the black widow hunts and eats is straight out of a Halloween horror movie.
“What they do is they bite down and those fangs inject a little bit of venom, and like all spiders, that venom contains pre-digestive juices — which means it starts digesting the fly," Schlichte explained. "Then, kind of like a straw, she just sucks up her dinner after it’s already digested.”
They rely on their webs to catch prey, and the black widow can really spin one.
“Their silk has been compared to steel before. Given its size, the web of the black widow is actually stronger than steel. That’s got a lot of really interesting engineering applications."
Schlichte continued, "Some very smart people are trying to use black widow silk, and other spider silk, to make bridges and other things.”
You can check them out for yourself inside the Butterfly and Insect Pavilion.
