Latrodectus tredecimguttatus, commonly known as the Mediterranean black widow or steppe spider, is a species of widow spider

Widow spider

Latrodectus is a genus of spider, in the family Theridiidae, which contains 31 recognized species. The common name widow spiders is sometimes applied to members of the genus due to the behavior of the female of eating the male after mating, although sometimes the males of some species are not eaten...

s in the genus Latrodectus. It is commonly found throughout the Mediterranean region

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

, ranging from Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 to southwest and central Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

, hence the name. Specimens from central Asia are also known by the binomial name Latrodectus lugubris; that name, however, is considered obsolete, though it is still commonly found in the literature. Many consider this spider a Latrodectus mactans subspecies.

Etymology

L. tredecimguttatus bears different names in different regions. For example, in Southern France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 it is called l'araignée malmignatte. Throughout the Central Asia and Eastern Slavic region (part of Balkans

Balkans

The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...

), the name qaraqurt is most often applied. A direct translation from Altaic languages

Altaic languages

Altaic is a proposed language family that includes the Turkic, Mongolic, Tungusic, and Japonic language families and the Korean language isolate. These languages are spoken in a wide arc stretching from northeast Asia through Central Asia to Anatolia and eastern Europe...

 qara is "black", while qurt mean "insect" or "bug".

Appearance

L. tredecimguttatus is black in color, similar to most other widow species, and is identified by the thirteen spots which are found on its dorsal abdomen (the species name is Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 for "with thirteen spots"). These spots are usually red in colour, but may also be yellow or orange. It is otherwise similar to other species in the genus Latrodectus. The Mediterranean widow primarily lives in steppes and other grasslands, and can be a significant problem in areas where grain is harvested by hand. The female of the species has a leg span of about 10-20mm, while the male is smaller and reaches 4-7mm at best. Only the female spider's bite is dangerous (either for humans or cattle) as the male cannot penetrate the relatively thick epidermis.

Toxicity

Like all Latrodectus species, L. tredecimguttatus has a painful bite that is fatal in rare cases. There are many reports of Ukrainian farm workers receiving bites while working in the fields.

In Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...

, there are reports of this species biting and killing camel

Camel

A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...

s.It is believed that this species is the cause of tarantism

Tarantism

Tarantism is an alleged, possibly deadly envenomation, popularly believed to result from the bite of a kind of wolf spider called a "tarantula"...

, often falsely attributed to the wolf spider

Wolf spider

Wolf spiders are members of the family Lycosidae, from the Ancient Greek word "" meaning "wolf". They are robust and agile hunters with good eyesight. They live mostly solitary lives and hunt alone. Some are opportunistic hunters pouncing upon prey as they find it or even chasing it over short...

 (Lycosa tarantula).

Interesting facts

• Today the karakurt is considered to be the same species of spider as that which plagued the farmers of Taranto
  Taranto
  Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....
  
  , whose deeds have long time been attributed to Lycosa tarantula
  Lycosa tarantula
  The tarantula wolf spider or just tarantula is a wolf spider found in southern Europe, especially in Italy and near the city of Taranto...
  
  ;
• Even in Ancient Greece this spider was well known for its dangerous bite ;

External links

• The World Spider Catalog
• http://www.srv.net/~dkv/hobospider/widows.html
• http://www.carakurt.narod.ru/index_uk.html
• http://naturdata.com/Latrodectus-tredecimguttatus-13272.htm