I haven't seen L. hesperus (western widow) on my property in years..
L. geometricus (browns) are extirpating them. In the future, the western widow may be considered endangered/threatened. The onslaught of people killing them out of fear, as well as the competition with the browns, which repopulate MUCH faster, with much larger broods, will take a major toll on them.
The only true black widows I've seen lately, were in scrubland... pretty sad to see native animals disappear.
Since we're on the subject of arachnids.. :D
Mature female Schizocosa mccooki.
Olios peninsulanus, a native huntsman of southern california.. Pretty awesome spiders, it's hard to see, but this spiderling is eating a silverfish on my finger :D
A close-up of the huntsman.. As an adult, it will have a three-inch legspan.
Bothriocyrtum californicum, the California Trap-door spider, dare ya to stick a finger in there
Same spider, photo taken right after she tried to kill me
Aphonopelma "OC-blonde". This native tarantula doesn't have an official name, yet. She's got one more molt, then I'm gonna breed her and make $$$!
Her suitor.. one molt away from adulthood. He's not even an adult, and he's huge! His colors are awesome!
California swollen-stinger, immature female eating a silverfish
Same species, mature gravid female, she may have given birth last night. These are pretty valuable, $30.00+ value! Im stoked about that one :D
And here's the habitat they all came from: