As we mentioned before in this weblog, black widow spiders are fond of pumpkins and winter squashes. Not as food, but as shelter--on the underside. So when harvesting pumpkins and winter squashes, it's a good idea to check for black widows. They are rather timid with humans (after all, we are somewhat larger than they are) and would only bite if a person touches one. And yes, they are poisonous, but rarely deadly. In the US the last known death from a black widow bite took place over ten years ago.
While harvesting winter squash last Friday I was not that successful in my attempts to photograph a black widow spider. Despite the poor focus, here are the two best pictures. The photo on the right shows the underside of the black widow with its telltale red hourglass. Below you can see the spider as it usually looks when seen from above. Incidentally, the newly homeless spider scurried away to safety. If you get a carnival squash in this week's share, it could well be the former home of this poor spider. 
i like this site it gives me huge amounts of information but i just have not seen many pictures to make this site more intresting.Maybe you should add some to this site.
Posted by: ariana | Sunday, March 26, 2006 at 12:45 PM