Are brown widows as poisonous as black widows?

Question

There is such a thing as a brown widow spider. It looks similar to the black widow, but it is not as shiny, is brown, and has black rings on its legs. They do have the same red hourglass marking, even the males. I'm wondering b/c they are in the same genus, but are different species and I don't know whether that would have an effect on the toxicity of the venom.

Answer 1

Yes. The brown widow venom is twice as potent as black widow venom.  However, they do not inject as much venom as a black widow, are very timid, and do not defend their web.  The brown widow is also slightly smaller than the black widow.