182 DENIZENS OF THE DESERT 



shines like blackest satin and under certain 

 lights even has a greenish cast. The red spots 

 so much talked of in connection with this spider, 

 and which are necessary marks for her identi- 

 fication, are found on the underside of the] abdo- 

 men. These are not always red, but are] quite 

 as often only buff or a light corn color, a fact 

 well to keep in mind. They are in the shape of 

 two triangles set apex to apex and resemble 

 together an old-fashioned hour-glass; hence the 

 vernacular name for the species, " hour-glass 

 spider. 1 ' Sometimes on the back of the spider 

 there is a broken row of red dots running down 

 the middle of the back. The male spider, who is 

 also black, has, besides the red markings, four 

 pairs of red stripes running down the sides of 

 the abdomen. The female Latrodectus is a 

 comparatively large spider with an abdomen 

 often fully as large as a gooseberry or a large 

 shoe button. The Widow's husband is much 

 smaller, generally only about one fourth as 

 large as his mate; he is seldom seen. 



In accordance with her rapacious nature this 

 spider exhibits few aesthetic tastes in the build- 

 ing of her web. It is an unshapely and unbeauti- 



