The typical adult female black widow has a shiny black body, slender black legs, and a red or orange mark in the shape of an hourglass on the underside of the large, round abdomen. It is helpful if the offending spider can be caught and saved for identification by an arachnologist. Anyone bitten by this spider should remain calm and promptly seek medical advice. Venom from its bite can cause reactions ranging from mild to painful and serious, but death is very unlikely and many symptoms can be alleviated if medical treatment is obtained. The black widow spider, Latrodectus hesperus, is the most common harmful spider in California. However, only those spiders whose venom typically causes a serious reaction in humans are called “toxic” spiders. Most spiders have venom which they use to kill their prey. Common spider families are described in Table 1. Spiders have 8 legs and 2 body parts-a head region (cephalothorax) and an abdomen. Spiders resemble insects and sometimes are confused with them, but they are arachnids, not insects. The spiders commonly seen out in the open during the day are unlikely to bite people. Spiders that might injure people-for example, black widows-generally spend most of their time hidden outside homes in woodpiles or in clutter in the garage. Many people fear or dislike spiders but for the most part, spiders are beneficial because of their role as predators of insects and other arthropods, and most cannot harm people.
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