For those Californians reading, especially those in the south, keep an eye out for this beautiful little spider, Latrodectus geometricus – the brown widow. Arachnologists at UC Riverside are monitoring the spread of this invasive species. Ironically it turns out to not be as dangerous as our native black widow. Nonetheless, it is not from ’round these here parts (should be said in your best southern twang). If you find a specimen, especially if you’re not in LA/Orange/SD counties, you should contact the team at UCR.
சுவாரஸ்யமானது. This is the first I’ve heard of this. I’ll clue my SD friends into it. At first glance I thought it was an immature black widow, as the patterns on their abdomens are exceedingly variable and highly decorative. So the above is the typical pattern?
There are a few more images on the website, but it looks like they can be less boldly marked. I’m not sure what the most typical pattern would be…