Today’s visit takes us to the Butterfly & Insect Pavilion to get an up-close look at one of the world’s most feared spiders.
- We focus on the western black widow spider, which is native to Nebraska, and one of 36 different species of black widows across the globe..
- VIDEO shows the incredible difference between females and males.
- We try to feed the female but she was a bit camera shy!
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Spiders and Halloween go hand in hand – and this spider is one of the most feared.
“The black widow — more specifically the western black widow spider,” Keeper Julie Schlichte introduced us.
Just one of 36 different species of black widow.
“The western black widow is native to Nebraska — it occurs all in the western part of the united states,” Schlichte said. “You’re not probably going to find her just running around the kitchen or anything, you’d have to be in a darker area. Old barns, cleaning out the shed — that’s where you’re more likely to run into one.”
The females are pretty easy to identify.