Haiku Friday – Black Widow

27 Feb

Hello and welcome to Haiku Friday! My prompt today is Black Widow Spider. For those of you that don’t know much about these little creatures here’s a bit of information.

 

The Black Widow Spider is a carnivorous bug. Yes, you read correctly. They are also considered the most venomous spiders in North America. This spider is just a little bigger than a paper clip but don’t be fooled––it’s bite is much feared because its venom is reported to be 15 times stronger than a rattlesnake’s.

The animals most at risk from the black widow’s bite are the male black widow spiders. Females sometimes kill and eat their counterparts after mating in a macabre behavior that gave the insect its name. Black widows are solitary year-round except during this violent mating ritual. To feed, black widows puncture their insect prey with their fangs and administer digestive enzymes to the corpses. By using these enzymes, and their gnashing fangs, the spiders liquefy their prey’s bodies and suck up the resulting fluid.

Black Widows are identified by a colored hourglass-shaped mark on their abdomens.

black widow spider

Black Widow Spider

 

Carnivore

by Vashti Quiroz-Vega

Ö

Black Widow Spider

A notorious partner

Hourglass marks his death

Ö

 

haiku_friday_black_widow_spider

Have you ever seen a Black Widow spider? Or been bitten by one? Have you ever had a spider for a pet?

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40 Responses to “Haiku Friday – Black Widow”

  1. cindy knoke February 27, 2015 at 3:40 pm #

    We have black widows, shy but lethal little guys……

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    • Vashti Quiroz-Vega February 27, 2015 at 4:20 pm #

      Hi Cindy! There are 3 or 4 species of black widows that are native to south Florida. Although I’ve never seen one myself. Thank goodness! I don’t ever want to see one up close. 🙂

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  2. Yolanda Isabel Regueira Marin February 27, 2015 at 4:02 pm #

    Nice work Vashti … Whilst I have now issues with spiders there are other pets I would prefer lol

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    • Vashti Quiroz-Vega February 27, 2015 at 4:25 pm #

      Ha, ha! I hear you. I have a friend who owns 2 Tarantulas, Spindra and Shelob. I believe he got the names from Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings––yes, he’s a nerd––like me. Ha, ha! He loves those spiders as if they were cats or dogs. Thank you! 😀 xx

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  3. Frank February 27, 2015 at 5:00 pm #

    happy black widow!
    to sate the hunger of She
    who teaches you bliss

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  4. coldhandboyack February 27, 2015 at 5:53 pm #

    I had them in Nevada. My well house was full of them. They are in Idaho too, but not in those numbers.

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    • Vashti Quiroz-Vega February 27, 2015 at 6:15 pm #

      Ugh! I’m normally not scared of spiders but that one terrifies me. I’ve never seen one although there are a few species native to Florida.

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      • coldhandboyack February 27, 2015 at 6:19 pm #

        We get the brown recluse, and one called the hobo spider too. I’ve seen both of those in my house.

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      • Vashti Quiroz-Vega February 27, 2015 at 9:10 pm #

        Oh geez. I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night. Ha, ha! I have read that the brown recluse likes to nest in dark corners of your closets, under the bed, and in shoes that haven’t been worn in a while. It would totally creep me out if I saw one in my house.

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      • coldhandboyack February 27, 2015 at 9:12 pm #

        They are a fact of life. We learn how to deal with it. I’ve checked my shoes every day for decades. Doubly important when camping in the desert.

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      • Vashti Quiroz-Vega February 27, 2015 at 10:05 pm #

        Wow! Human beings are amazing. We can adapt to any circumstance. 😀

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      • coldhandboyack February 27, 2015 at 10:49 pm #

        Imagine those folks who live around venomous reptiles. We get the odd rattlesnake, but some places they are an everyday occurrence.

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      • Vashti Quiroz-Vega March 3, 2015 at 2:45 pm #

        I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night. 😦 And believe it or not I don’t scare easy but spiders give me the willies.

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  5. Sunni Morris February 27, 2015 at 5:55 pm #

    We have black widows living in our patio plants. We’re aware of them so stay clear. I get rid of any of their webs I find too. I also suspect they live in the garage because I’ve seem webs out there too. The best thing to do is to watch where you stick your hands. Yoiu never know when you’ll run into a black widow or a scorpion, or anything else that isn’t too friendly around here.

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    • Vashti Quiroz-Vega February 27, 2015 at 6:17 pm #

      Oh Sunni, you’re a brave woman. I’d be terrified to leave my house! And I’m not normally such a sissy. But black widows give me the willies. Ha, ha!

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  6. olganm February 27, 2015 at 6:58 pm #

    We don’t have them here or in the UK (although some spiders sometimes turn up with cargo…). Good haiku although the spider doesn’t sound very endearing (mind you, I haven’t met one of the male spiders…)

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    • Vashti Quiroz-Vega February 27, 2015 at 8:54 pm #

      You’re so lucky, Olga. Although I bet there’s some other type of creepy crawlers pestering you guys. Thank you! I haven’t met either so I’m thankful for that. 😉

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  7. macjam47 February 27, 2015 at 7:42 pm #

    We have black widows in Ohio, along with brown recluse, wolf spiders, hobo’s, and others. I have been bitten by wolf spiders, but not a black widow. Spider’s are very interesting, as long as they stay outside of my living space. 😀

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    • Vashti Quiroz-Vega February 27, 2015 at 9:06 pm #

      Hi! Oh my goodness! That’s a lot of spiders. I read about a woman who was bit by a spider and then contracted a flesh-eating bug which was introduced into the bite wound. That’s scary! Check shoes you haven’t worn in a while before putting them on. I’ve read the brown recluse spider likes making a home in shoes. 😉

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  8. john flanagan February 27, 2015 at 10:23 pm #

    Vashti
    i respect all spiders but i keep my distance

    Best wishes

    john

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  9. wccunningham February 28, 2015 at 6:25 am #

    I had a couch in storage once and moved it to my office. I was working long hours and slept in my office one night, the day after I moved it and woke up to multiple bites on my leg. By late afternoon I was taken to the hospital (swollen lips, throat) and had to have some type of epi shot that seemed to clear things up. Doctor suggested it was a spider bite. We went back and looked at couch, a sofa sleeper, and found a nest with black widows.

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  10. olganm February 28, 2015 at 6:25 am #

    Thanks for commenting on my post, Vashti. Just in case, this is the link to my post on Mary Shelley and her mother:

    Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley. Mother and daughter guest classic authors.

    Liked by 1 person

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  11. ShrutiInsights February 28, 2015 at 11:40 am #

    Hey Vashti,
    I’ve nominated you for the Very inspiring blogger award. You may see it here: https://shrutiinsights.wordpress.com/2015/02/28/im-happy-and-i-know-it/
    If you choose to accept, which I hope you will you need to follow 4 rules. 1. Thank the blogger who nominated you. 2. List the rules and display the award. 3. Share seven facts about yourself. 4. Nominate (15) other amazing blogs and comment on their blog to let them know you nominated them.
    Keep writing and inspiring,
    Shruti

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  12. Christy Birmingham March 1, 2015 at 12:40 pm #

    Eeeek spiders scare me… just a little! But I made it through the post and even lived to write this comment 🙂 I liked your Haiku!

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  13. A Long March 4, 2015 at 8:08 pm #

    This haiku bugs me Vashti! :o)
    Vivid nature poem.

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  14. Linda March 5, 2015 at 10:54 am #

    I found your great blog through the WLC Blog Follows at the World Literary Cafe! I’m happy to connect with you! Come by and visit my blog: http://www.lindastrawn.com
    ~Linda
    We have plenty of black widows where I live, and yes, I have kept one for a pet. She loved crickets. I discovered they don’t live long in captivity, but I enjoyed watching her (at a safe distance) for the short time I took care of her. My husband wasn’t thrilled.

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    • Vashti Quiroz-Vega March 5, 2015 at 1:56 pm #

      Oh my! I’m sure they’re fascinating to watch but I’d be terrified that she’d escape somehow. You’re a braver woman than I am, Linda. I’m headed to your blog. 😉

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  15. greenlifenow March 8, 2015 at 9:30 am #

    Love the hourglass in your black widow haiku. I know someone who was bitten by tarantula and recovered:-)

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    • Vashti Quiroz-Vega March 9, 2015 at 4:49 pm #

      All the female black widows have that red hourglass shape on their abdomens. That’s how you can identify them. A Tarantula’s bite hurts like hell, but doesn’t kill you––unless you’re allergic. The wound heals like a bee sting, I believe. My brother was stung by one when we were kids. We all thought he was going to die. It was scary. The doctor told us that the bite would not kill him. Phew! 🙂

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      • greenlifenow March 17, 2015 at 7:47 pm #

        I will remember that! In our case the tarantula was found under the bed:) i always say thank goodness it wasn’t me:))) to this day. It must have been even scarier when you are a kid. Our tarantula was collected in a glass jar and placed outside the next day. Now that I think about we should have driven her miles away.

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      • Vashti Quiroz-Vega March 18, 2015 at 4:17 pm #

        Ha, ha! I definitely would have driven it far, far away. What if it decides to visit you again? Ahh! 😮

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  16. dr sweetyshinde March 8, 2015 at 12:52 pm #

    Arachnophobia = fear of spiders. My earliest memory is of Miss Muffet. I know spider webs are a headache, but they are such delicately woven wonders!

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    • Vashti Quiroz-Vega March 9, 2015 at 3:54 pm #

      Hi! Yes, for whatever reason I can’t stand when I’m walking through the yard and accidentally brush by a spider web. I start doing my ‘heebie-jeebies’ dance until I get it all off me. Ha, ha. But I have seen macro pictures of webs and they’re amazingly intricate and beautiful. 😀

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