Female Black Widow spider. There are several species of black widows, they are all look pretty much alike. This how they are most often found, hanging upside down in their webs. The males are much smaller. This particular picture is of Latrodectus hesperus, a western species. In Michigan we have Latrodectus variolus, the "northern widow". Family Theridiidae, the Comb-Footed or Cobweb Spiders.
Jim Kalisch (photographer; copyright holder), University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Department of Entomology
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