black widow spiders

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To Avoid Widows' Kiss of Death, Male Spiders Chase Young Girls

A win-win: They live to tell the tale, and mate again

(Newser) - No one—but no one—likes to get killed for having sex, and as that is often the fate of male black widow spiders, the critters are evolving a mating tactic that is, anthropomorphically speaking, more than a little creepy. Researchers found a startling, and slightly unsettling, mating shift in...

Woman Bitten by Black Widow Lurking in Her Grapes

Spider reportedly crawled up 21-year-old's arm

(Newser) - A Vermont woman's simple gesture—reaching into a bag of grapes—ended up landing her in the hospital. That's because a black widow spider was lurking inside the bag, per the 21-year-old's mother; the mother says the spider made its way up her daughter's arm and...

What Makes Black Widows So Deadly


 What Makes 
 Black Widows 
 So Deadly 
study says

What Makes Black Widows So Deadly

They evolved quickly with same venom compounds as house spiders

(Newser) - Black widow spiders are known for their lethal venom, but just how did they get so deadly? Apparently by evolving quickly over the years during their pursuit of "ever-bigger prey," Discovery reports. According to a new study, black widows and house spiders have comparable toxic compounds in their...

What It's Like to Be Bitten By a Black Widow

It hurts, a lot; but a new drug in testing holds promise of relief

(Newser) - Most of us have probably unknowingly walked by hundreds of black widow spiders in our lifetimes, writes outdoorsman Jackson Landers, but not many of us have been bitten. Among the unlucky few is Landers himself, and he writes about the experience in the New York Times . After spotting one of...

5 Insane Sacrifices Made for Science

Mars One plan, Bikini Atoll atomic testing top the list

(Newser) - With a Dutch company planning to send astronauts to Mars for life—and make it a reality show—no other scientific endeavor could ask more of people ... right? Well, the Wall Street Journal runs down the competition:
  • 90 people offered to work on ships near the Navy's Bikini Atoll
...

Maine Shipyard Finds Black Widows in Cargo

Warship fumigated after deadly shipment arrives from California

(Newser) - A Maine shipyard that builds all sorts of ships for the US Navy received an unexpectedly dangerous shipment from its California supplier—two dozen black widow spiders that had hitched a ride in a shipment of launch system parts. An exterminator was called to get rid of the arachnids that...

6 Stories