First record of Latrodectus hesperus Chamberlin & Ivie, 1935, Western Black Widow (Araneae, Theridiidae), in Slovakia

By

Purgat, Pavol
Švecová, Lucia

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2025-1-22

Original Publication

Check list : journal of species lists and distribution

Volume

21

Series / Issue

Issue: 1

Pages

107--115

Subjects

Arachnida , Central Europe , introduction , medically significant spiders , non-native species

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

[São Paulo, Brazil] Luís Felipe Toledo 2005-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15560/21.1.107

 

Abstract

An alien spider species, Latrodectus hesperus Chamberlin & Ivie, 1935, is reported from Slovakia for the first time. The spider was accidentally transported to northern Slovakia with goods, and it was found in synanthropic habitat. This record confirms the route through which spiders of the genus Latrodectus are imported into Europe. Characteristic features, along with photographs of the habitus and copulatory organs, are presented.