Is this a hybrid black widow mixed with brown recluse?

I JUST read an article yesterday about the brown widow and they are not very toxic at all, even the black widows rarely cause more than mild flu like symptoms from their bites. The article was in a travel mag I get and they said that both the brown and black widow spiders have been downgraded over the years as far as the hype they have taken. I don’t know for certain, but, I doubt there can be a black/brown widow and brown recluse hybrid. I think their habits and habitats are not a blend, and even if they overlap ranges they are two completely different species. That’s a research job I guess.

You should send it to Rick Vetter he is doing research on spiders.

@YARNLADY It’s saying he doesn’t exist? I tried share question, but thanks anyhow!

There is a brown widow (not a hybrid), looks like a possibility.

Try this article

“Although the venom of these spiders are not as toxic as the Black Widow, they are still very painful and can cause serious injury if not treated.”

“Because brown widow spiders (latrodectus geometricus) can vary from light tan to dark brown or almost black and may have differing markings such as white, black, yellow, brown and even orange on the back of their abdomen, they are very hard to recognize! On the bottom of the abdomen you’ll notice the hourglass marking but it will be colored yellow or orange. The Egg Sac of the brown widow spider is not that same as other widows and has pointed projections much like the old sea mines.

If you have pictures of this spider, or believe you have been bitten by a Brown Widow, please post your comments below and send the pictures to the email address located on the bottom of this page.”

Bad Spider BItes

I would also Id that as a Brown Widow as others have said.

Well, as an insect purist I’d like to point out that spiders are not insects.

whoa @Rarebear i’m so sorry to offend you, didn’t know you wanted appropriate classes for this reference. uhm, arachnida class, animalia kingdom… ahh! suborder and infraorder! i dont know! ahhh!

@Rarebear . . . are you saying that you are also a bit of an arach-nerd?

@Blondesjon snork

@Rarebear :P

that is a brown widow. Prolly a female.

I’ve been trying to steer clear of them since midsummer. They are strange looking, but there is no denying the shape- just like a black widow.

@tinyfaery Yes. Even their droppings are as heavy as a black widow! I don’t know how mature this one was, but it wasn’t as “big” as a full adult black widow. Same web thickness from what I can remember as well. According to UCR it’s actually double poisonous as a black widow and @judochop It’s definitely a female. I know the males don’t carry large bodies.

I came in here because I heard someone say that there’s a hybrid with brown recluses and black widows, now that I read some of the answers here im beginning to believe that its been around all this time and that they really refer to a” MALE” black widow wich is smaller than the female and brown in comparison with the female .look it people the male and the female are different in the black widow’s characteristics.to be honest I actually thought I would find something fascinating and true about a hybrid spider with all the respect nature deserves.

@simonquesi Welcome to fluther and hey…maybe it’s your calling to breed hybrid spiders. lol