Brown widow
Her egg sac bristles with tiny silk spikes and has been compared to a small floating naval mine, unlike the smooth round egg sacs of black widows.
| Where | Buildings, containers and dense vegetation |
|---|---|
| Size | Female 12 to 16 mm, male 6 to 8 mm body length |
| When | January to December |
The brown widow is mottled tan to dark brown with a dark stripe down the back and diagonal stripes on each flank, and an orange rather than vivid red hourglass mark on the underside. Females run 12 to 16 mm and males, at only 6 to 8 mm, are too small to pose any threat.
It builds a tangled web with a hidden silk retreat in sheltered corners of buildings, containers and dense vegetation, and comes out at dusk to hunt through the night. Only mature females bite defensively, and a disturbed spider more often drops to the ground and plays dead.
Traits
Habitat
Towns
Colour
Brown, Orange, White
Active
Night
To people
Take care
Only adult females bite, and only when pressed against skin; the bite causes sharp local pain and a red mark, and can bring on nausea, cramping or tingling spreading from the site. Wash the bite and seek medical care if symptoms spread beyond mild local pain.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Glossy jet black with a vivid red hourglass mark, while the brown widow is tan to dark brown with black and white patterning on its back and a duller orange hourglass mark underneath.
Questions
Is the Brown widow dangerous to people?
Take care. Only adult females bite, and only when pressed against skin; the bite causes sharp local pain and a red mark, and can bring on nausea, cramping or tingling spreading from the site. Wash the bite and seek medical care if symptoms spread beyond mild local pain.
When can you see the Brown widow?
The Brown widow can be seen from January to December, at night.
Plate retouched from a photo by glmory, CC0, iNaturalist Licence
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Spiders›Cobweb spiders›Latrodectus
Last updated 2026-09-27. Every entry is checked against published sources.