Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,
i recently aquired several WC black widows that were collected from southern idaho.
i figured they were L.hersperus . but when i got them i thought they could be L.variolus.
they are all black with a small brocken hourglass no red markings anywhere else just completley black with 2 small red triangles thet make up a broken hourglass.
i thought L.hersperus had a full hourglass and i thought L.variolus had red markings on the top of the abdomen.
neither of these traits show up.
thanks
kevin

>>Hi,
>>i recently aquired several WC black widows that were collected from southern idaho.
>>i figured they were L.hersperus . but when i got them i thought they could be L.variolus.
>>they are all black with a small brocken hourglass no red markings anywhere else just completley black with 2 small red triangles thet make up a broken hourglass.
>>i thought L.hersperus had a full hourglass and i thought L.variolus had red markings on the top of the abdomen.
>>neither of these traits show up.
>>thanks
>>kevin

L. variolus often, but not always, retains the dorsal markings (heck, I had one that retained traces of the juvenile white racing stripes). L. variolus does indeed have the characteristic 'broken hourglass', i.e. two triangles. If you see a broken hourglass, it is most likely a northern widow, not a western.
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Wyvern

I have caught many different colours of Western widows. I am also breeding completely black ones. I have also found them with an overall purplish tint. Very diverse widow.

here are the average ones up here. There are also some orange ones also.