The Western black widow spider has been found in many urban areas across the Western United States. You find them frequently in garages, in wood pile, and on brick fences in urban areas. Urban populations can get quite dense, with over 100 spiders occupying 1 city block! These spiders are asocial, which means they do not like each other, but sometimes in densely packed populations, their webs overlap and you get an angry spider who cannibalises her neighbor, shown here:
The spider with blue marking was a spider we were collecting weekly data and was paint marked. She is being eaten by her neighbor.
Want to know more about urban spiders? Check out this previous post on gene flow in urban black widows or this one on how urban cross spiders build different types of webs than their rural neighbors!
Do you have a photo or video of an urban species doing something unusual? What about a rare plant or animal that you were surprised to find in a city? If so, let Lindsay know or Tweet at us and you could be featured as a future observation of the week!
I am interested in urban ecology and evolution. Urbanization can have drastic impacts on local ecosystems, both negative and positive, and creates a new environment for organisms to experience. To understand the impacts that urbanization plays on organisms, I look through the lense of population genetics and molecular evolution.
- Urban Observation of the Week: Golden Jackal - July 28, 2021
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- Urban Observation of the Week: So Many Plants - July 14, 2021
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