September 8, 2023

We are all Southern Black Widow spiderlings

We have instars just like butterflies.

But we only molt til we look like our parents

We don’t completely metamorphosize.

For more spidery goodness, check out the second edition of my Rhyming Guide to Florida Spiders which is now available for purchase!

Location: Photos taken with Lou Coticchio  at USF St. Petersburg Cassill Lab 106, Dept of Biological Studies.

Sources: https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/Creatures/URBAN/SPIDERS/black_widow_spider.htm

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson