- Where to see one
- 5 U.S. zoos in our directory hold black widow spider, confirmed against each zoo's own animal list.
Conservation status
Not Evaluated
This species has not been assessed for the IUCN Red List, so it sits outside the threat scale entirely.
About the black widow spider
The southern black widow is a venomous spider native to North America, found mainly in the southeastern United States, ranging as far north as Ohio and as far west as Texas. Females are shiny black with a red hourglass marking underneath and measure 8-13 mm (0.31-0.51 in) in body length, while males are much smaller. The spider builds a three-dimensional tangled web of high-tensile silk and preys on insects, woodlice and other arachnids. It wraps entangled prey in silk, bites and envenoms it, and holds it while the venom takes about ten minutes to work. The venom can cause pain and other symptoms but is rarely fatal to healthy humans.
Black Widow Spider facts
- A female can produce four to nine egg sacs in one summer, each with about 100-400 eggs.
- Females live up to three years, while a male's lifespan is about three to four months.
- The female may eat the male after mating.
- Juveniles look very different, with grayish to black abdomens striped in white and spotted yellow and orange.
Where to see black widow spider in the U.S.
5 zoos across 5 states
Find the closest one
Rank the 5 zoos holding black widow spider by how far they are from you. Your location is used in your browser to sort this list and is never sent to us.
Arizona· 1
California· 1
Colorado· 1
Louisiana· 1
Tennessee· 1
AZAThe Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Accredited members have passed an independent inspection of animal care and welfare, safety, conservation and education, repeated every five years. Many smaller facilities never apply, so “not accredited” isn't a verdict on its own. What accreditation means · How we check this
Built from each zoo's own published animal list.
