Black widow spider?

Question

I found a black widow spider living on the outside of my house, i took his picture (with flash) and a day later he curled up and its been about a week and he hasn't moved. Is it possible i killed him taking his picture with the flash? Or do they usually go this long without eating or moving?

Answer 1

No, your flash did not kill the spider.  I've shot many a flash photo of all kinds of spiders and haven't killed one yet that way.

Spiders have more patience than any animal on the planet, and will wait tirelessly for as long as it takes for their prey to come by and get caught in their web.  Unless your spider is curled upside down on the ground, it is probably just waiting and waiting for a meal to come by.

Black Widow Spiders are truly fascinating creatures.  While the female is large and black and can be easily seen, the male is very beautiful, with a pearl-white body and gold stripes on his abdomen, and is about the size of a very small grain of rice.  He dances and swings on the female's web as he approaches her to mate.  After she allows him to do this and he has mated with her (an incredible sight to behold) she does NOT always eat him, as is the popular belief.  Most of the time he makes a hasty retreat and gets away.  But now and then, the female will grab him, wrap him up, and feed on his internal fluids.  This is a great source of food and energy for her upcoming eggs.  She lays hundreds of these eggs within a white egg sac that she builds out of webbing.  When the eggs hatch the spiderlings emerge and, standing on nearby objects, raise their little butts up high and wait for a breeze.  When the breeze comes, they expel a waft of silk and float away on the air current to new destinations and new homes.

Spiders are truly wonderful animals.  Get to really "know" them and you'll be fascinated and have no fear.  If it weren't for spiders, you'd be overrun by cockroaches, flys, mosquitoes, termites, and many other pesky insects.

Answer 2

They hide when they see threats. They're not as aggressive as people think. Whenever I find one they usually curl up and hide in a dark place in their web. Spray it with some water from a water bottle or something and see if it moves.

Wasps sometime sting them, which paralyzes them so that they live long enough for the wasp larva to eat them. If the wasp couldn't carry it away to the nest, it might have just left the spider there. It might wake up after a few days or a week.

It might be dead though. I don't think they have a very long lifespan.

Don't touch it though. They can make you really sick, like you wish you were dead if they bite you.

Good luck.

Answer 3

i highly doubt it...but depending how close you were to the spider, and how strong the flash was...it as a billgillon eyes....so the flash could of cause a shock to its system...but i doubt it...a lot of spiders do curl up...but u may just be looking at it when it curls up and not all day long...but if its dead thats ok...i would be worried the day its not there and yo left the door open and it could be in there