Black Widow Eggs

Southern Black Widow Spider, Latrodectus mactans, constructing egg sac.

The Southern black widow spider, as mentioned before, is the most common of the native widow spiders and considered the original black widow. Mating often occurs in spring or summer, as contrary to common misconception, sexual cannibalism is rare in nature with reports from cramped laboratory settings. The female constructs an egg sac which contains 25 to 250 eggs, and can produce more than one sac over the course of summer. The females guard the egg sac until hatching about 4 weeks later. Once hatched, the spiderlings disperse by ballooning silk threads and allowing air currents to transport them away.