2 Types of Black Widows in Illinois

2 types of black widows have a verified observation record in Illinois. The most frequently recorded are Northern Black Widow and Brown Widow. Here is the full list, ranked by how often each is reported on iNaturalist.

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2 types of black widows have a verified observation record in Illinois. The most frequently recorded are Northern Black Widow and Brown Widow. Here is the full list, ranked by how often each is reported on iNaturalist.

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Real sighting data, source iNaturalist

189 verified observations on iNaturalist of black widow have been recorded in Illinois, most often in June, October, May.

When black widow are recorded in Illinois

Verified species, source iNaturalist

2 types of black widows recorded in Illinois

2 black widow species have a verified observation record in Illinois, each with at least 10 confirmed sightings. The full list, ranked by how often each is recorded, is below.

1 of the 2 shown is recorded as introduced to Illinois rather than native.

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    1

    Northern Black Widow

    Latrodectus variolus

    149 records
  • No openly licensed photo yet
    2

    Brown Widow

    Latrodectus geometricus

    17 recordsIntroduced

Plus 1 more recorded only rarely (fewer than 10 verified sightings). Counts from verified iNaturalist observations.

The Northern Black Widow (Latrodectus variolus) is the most commonly recorded, with 149 verified observations, about 90% of all black widows reported in Illinois. If you spot a black widow here, it is statistically most likely to be this one.

Not every one of these is originally from here. Brown Widow is recorded by iNaturalist as introduced in Illinois rather than native, so it arrived with human help rather than on its own.