# Black widow spider (*Latrodectus mactans*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-widow-spider  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The black widow spider (Latrodectus mactans) is a species in the family Theridiidae, order Araneae. It has been recorded in 32 countries, most often in Mexico, United States and Argentina.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | Not recorded |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Young per litter or clutch | Not recorded |
| Conservation status | Not recorded |
| Recorded in | 32 countries |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Arthropoda
- class: Arachnida
- order: Araneae
- family: Theridiidae
- genus: Latrodectus
- species: *Latrodectus mactans* (Fabricius, 1775)

Synonyms: *Aranea mactans*, *Latrodectus agoyangyang*, *Latrodectus albomaculatus*, *Latrodectus hahli*, *Latrodectus insularis*, *Latrodectus luzonicus*, *Latrodectus sagittifer*, *Latrodectus schuchii*

## Where it has been recorded

Countries with openly licensed sighting records on GBIF (records in brackets). Recorded sightings, not a definitive range.

Mexico (1521), United States (1114), Argentina (32), Dominican Republic (29), Australia (8), Peru (6), El Salvador (5), Brazil (4), St. Barthélemy (3), Spain (3), Venezuela (3), South Africa (3), Colombia (2), Costa Rica (2), Cuba (2), Croatia (2), Haiti (2), Madagascar (2), Namibia (2), Sweden (2), Bahamas (1), Canada (1), Chile (1), Germany (1), Ecuador (1), Georgia (1), Greece (1), Israel (1), Italy (1), New Zealand (1), Philippines (1), Türkiye (1)

## Common questions

### Where does the black widow spider live?

The black widow spider has openly licensed sighting records from 32 countries on GBIF. The most records come from Mexico, United States, Argentina, Dominican Republic and Australia. These are recorded sightings, not a definitive range.

### What kind of animal is the black widow spider?

The black widow spider (Latrodectus mactans) belongs to the family Theridiidae in the order Araneae.

## Sources

- [GBIF Backbone Taxonomy](https://www.gbif.org/dataset/d7dddbf4-2cf0-4f39-9b2a-bb099caae36c), CC BY 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. GBIF Secretariat. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org.
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/), CC0 1.0, live API 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata, the free knowledge base.
- [GBIF occurrence aggregates (CC0 and CC BY records only)](https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search), CC BY 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. GBIF.org occurrence search, country facet counts restricted to CC0 1.0 and CC BY 4.0 records.
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/), Per file, live API 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Licence and creator recorded per file.
- [English Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/), CC BY-SA 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

Cite as: Black widow spider (Latrodectus mactans). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-widow-spider