3 Types of Black Widows in North Carolina

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

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3 types of black widows have a verified observation record in North Carolina. The most frequently recorded are Southern Black Widow, 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

2,058 verified observations on iNaturalist of black widow have been recorded in North Carolina, most often in September, July, May.

When black widow are recorded in North Carolina

Verified species, source iNaturalist

3 types of black widows recorded in North Carolina

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

1 of the 3 shown is recorded as introduced to North Carolina rather than native.

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    1

    Southern Black Widow

    Latrodectus mactans

    1,006 records
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    2

    Northern Black Widow

    Latrodectus variolus

    470 records
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    3

    Brown Widow

    Latrodectus geometricus

    345 recordsIntroduced

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

The Southern Black Widow (Latrodectus mactans) is the most commonly recorded, with 1,006 verified observations, about 55% of all black widows reported in North Carolina. 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 North Carolina rather than native, so it arrived with human help rather than on its own.