''Latrodectus bishopi'' is the scientific name for the red widow spider, which is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to certain

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s of

central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and

southern Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

, where it lives primarily in sand dunes dominated by sand pine, ''

Pinus clausa ''Pinus clausa'' is a species of pine endemic to the Southeastern United States. Its common names include sand pine, Florida spruce pine, Alabama pine, and scrub pine. Distribution The tree is found in two separate locations, one across central ...

'' – a type of vegetation found only in peninsular Florida.

Description

The red widow, ''L. bishopi'', has a red-orange

cephalothorax The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''cepha ...

, its

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...

is black with yellow rings outlining the rows of red spots and its legs are vermillion red. On its underside, it does not have the familiar hourglass marking and instead usually has one or two small red marks. Females are almost double the size of the male. ;Venom ''L. bishopi'' has been reported to be venomous like the other ''

Latrodectus ''Latrodectus'' is a broadly distributed genus of spiders with several species that are commonly known as the true widows. This group is composed of those often loosely called black widow spiders, brown widow spiders, and similar spiders. Howeve ...

'' members, though no bites by this spider are recorded in the medical literature; unlike cosmopolitan species such as the

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

and

brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...

widows, it seldom comes into contact with humans. The median lethal dose () of the spider's venom has been measured in mice as 2.20 mg/kg (with a confidence interval of 1.29-3.74), and each spider contains about 0.157 mg. ;Threatened species ''L. bishopi'' is a

threatened species Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensa ...

in the United States.

Taxonomy

The species was first described in 1938 by B. J. Kaston as the variety ''bishopi'' of the species ''

Latrodectus mactans ''Latrodectus mactans'', known as southern black widow or simply black widow, and the shoe-button spider, is a venomous species of spider in the genus ''Latrodectus''. The females are well known for their distinctive black and red coloring and f ...

''. The name ''bishopi'' honors Marshall B. Bishop who collected the specimens on which the description was based. ''Latrodectus bishopi'' was raised to a full species in 1964 by John D. McCrone and Herbert W. Levi. It can be distinguished from ''L. mactans'' by features of the male and female genitalia: the embolus of the male

palpal bulb The two palpal bulbs – also known as palpal organs and genital bulbs – are the copulatory organs of a male spider. They are borne on the last segment of the pedipalps (the front "limbs" of a spider), giving the spider an appearance often descr ...

has one fewer loop as do the connecting ducts leading to the female

spermatheca The spermatheca (pronounced plural: spermathecae ), also called receptaculum seminis (plural: receptacula seminis), is an organ of the female reproductive tract in insects, e.g. ants, bees, some molluscs, oligochaeta worms and certain other ...

Distribution and ecology

''L. bishopi'' is endemic to central and southern

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. It is restricted to sand-pine scrub – inland areas of dry sand dunes dominated by sand pine, ''Pinus clausa''. Within these areas, the species makes most of its webs in palmetto bushes (''

Serenoa repens ''Serenoa repens'', commonly known as saw palmetto, is the sole species currently classified in the genus ''Serenoa''. It is a small palm, growing to a maximum height around . It is endemic to the subtropical and tropical Southeastern United S ...

'' and ''

Sabal etonia ''Sabal etonia'', commonly known as the scrub palmetto is a species of palm. It is native only to peninsular Florida in the United States, where it is found in Florida sand pine scrub communities. Description ''Sabal etonia'' is a fan palm with ...

'') at heights of 30 cm or more above the ground. The species is a known predator of ''

Hemisphaerota cyanea ''Hemisphaerota cyanea'', known generally as palmetto tortoise beetle, is a species of leaf beetle in the family Chrysomelidae. Other names include the Florida tortoise beetle and iridescent blue chrysomelid beetle. It is native to the southeast ...

''.

References

External links

1 Flickr.com: photos
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1937747 bishopi Endemic fauna of Florida Spiders of the United States Endangered fauna of the United States Spiders described in 1938