2 5 o AMERICAN SPIDERS 



a rather small snare of coarse silk in dark locations. The core of the 

 web is a silken tunnel, in which the spider often spends the daylight 

 hours, and into which it retreats when disturbed. Radiating from 

 this tube are numerous strands forming an irregular mesh. The 

 whole web may be limited to the space in a small burrow, but an 

 aerial snare usually projects in all directions for a few inches to a 

 few feet. The silk is heavy and strong, and can entangle the largest 

 of terrestrial insects that blunder into it. In most instances, the 

 webs are placed in or close to the ground. The abandoned burrow 

 of a rodent may be appropriated and fitted to the needs of the 

 spider. A recess under a stone, a crevice in a dirt bank, the space 

 under chips of wood, log piles, stone heaps, or stacked materials of 

 any kind, afford excellent sites for the webs of Latrodectus. In- 

 deed, man provides so many excellent stations for webs that these 

 spiders abound near his habitations. In the northeastern United 

 States these spiders are almost invariably associated with littered 

 areas, with the dumps of large cities, and with such outbuildings as 

 garages, barns, storage sheds, and privies. Indoors, in addition to 

 occupying dark crevices, black-widow webs are placed in the 

 angles of doors and windows, and behind shutters. Although these 

 spiders are reputed to live inside houses, and often do, they are not 

 found there as frequently as is generally believed. 



In nature, the black widow spins its web in many situations, 

 some of them well above the ground level. The tall cholla cacti of 

 Arizona may harbor their nests. They have been reported to live 

 in birds' nests in pine trees, and to infest grape arbors in Colorado. 

 Almost any situation that provides enough space for a more-or-less 

 expansive web, and which is reasonably well protected from intense 

 light and inclement weather, may house the black widow. 



Within the United States, the black widow is widespread, oc- 

 curring in every state, and in several of the Canadian provinces. 

 The species is less common in the North, but even there is locally 

 abundant in many places. In the West it attains quite high altitudes; 

 it is known to live at or above 8000 feet in the San Francisco Moun- 

 tains of Arizona, and in Estes Park, Colorado. In general, however, 

 the spider is more abundant at lower altitudes. 



The black widow is a shy, sedentary creature largely nocturnal 

 in habit, which lives a retiring life in the small world of its coarse 

 web. The females rarely leave their silken mesh voluntarily, and 

 are completely out of their element when not in intimate touch with 

 the threads. Much more venturesome are the males, which, only 



