4 Types of Black Widows in Texas

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

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4 types of black widows have a verified observation record in Texas. The most frequently recorded are Southern Black Widow, Western 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

9,067 verified observations on iNaturalist of black widow have been recorded in Texas, most often in July, June, April.

When black widow are recorded in Texas

Verified species, source iNaturalist

4 types of black widows recorded in Texas

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

1 of the 4 shown is recorded as introduced to Texas rather than native.

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    1

    Southern Black Widow

    Latrodectus mactans

    3,195 records
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    2

    Western Black Widow

    Latrodectus hesperus

    2,190 records
  • No openly licensed photo yet
    3

    Brown Widow

    Latrodectus geometricus

    1,450 recordsIntroduced
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    4

    Northern Black Widow

    Latrodectus variolus

    267 records

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 3,195 verified observations, about 45% of all black widows reported in Texas. 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 Texas rather than native, so it arrived with human help rather than on its own.