CreatureData

Western black widow

Latrodectus hesperus Chamberlin & Ivie, 1935

Status not recordedspiders

The western black widow (Latrodectus hesperus) is a species in the family Theridiidae, order Araneae. Recorded adults reach 1.31 cm in length.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the western black widow

Weight
Not recorded
Length
1.31 cm
Lifespan
Not recorded
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Active
At night (nocturnal)
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the western black widow?

WESTERN BLACK WIDOW · LENGTH 1.31 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 1.31 cm, the recorded maximum length of the western black widow is about 0.8% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the western black widow live?

Not recorded

Is the western black widow endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the western black widow classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumArthropoda
  3. classArachnida
  4. orderAraneae
  5. familyTheridiidae
  6. genusLatrodectus
  7. SpeciesLatrodectus hesperus Chamberlin & Ivie, 1935

Synonyms Latrodectus mactans hesperus, Latrodectus mactans texanus

Other names and names in other languages (13)
  • Western black widow spiderEnglish
  • snovačka kalifornskáCzech
  • Vestamerikansk sort enkeDanish
  • Westliche Schwarze WitweGerman
  • Viuda negra norteñaSpanish
  • Veuve noire de l'OuestFrench
  • ツヤクロゴケグモJapanese
  • Zwarte weduweDutch
  • Viúva-NegraPortuguese
  • wereecheyxgf
  • chukui jubajeyaq
  • Westelijke zwarte weduweDutch
  • Viúva-negra-ocidentalPortuguese

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the western black widow

Other species in the same genus Latrodectus.

Brown widow

Latrodectus geometricus

TheridiidaeNo free photo yet

Red widow

Latrodectus bishopi

TheridiidaeNo free photo yet

CompareWestern black widow vs Black widow spiderWestern black widow vs Steppe spiderWestern black widow vs Redback spiderWestern black widow vs Brown widow

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the western black widow?

An adult western black widow measures 1.31 cm long, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the western black widow?

The western black widow (Latrodectus hesperus) belongs to the family Theridiidae in the order Araneae.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Western black widow (Latrodectus hesperus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/western-black-widow

MLA

“Western black widow (Latrodectus hesperus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/western-black-widow.

BibTeX
@misc{western_black_widow_2026,
  title = {Western black widow (Latrodectus hesperus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/western-black-widow},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}