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Black Button Spider (Latrodectus indistinctus)
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Jul 3, 2025
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Today we're talking about one of the
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most feared spiders in South Africa, the
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black button spider. This is Malcolm
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Walker on Wild but True. Today we're
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focusing on one of our creepy crawies.
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The black button spider belongs to a
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family called widow spiders and they are
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called latrodictus. The namerodictus
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comes from the Greek word for injury and
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injury and this is because their venom
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is very neurotoxic.
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So, it's a very potent venom that can
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cause pain and cramps in your muscles
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and nausea. However, it's not usually
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fatal unless you are elderly or a small
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child. You might feel like there are
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pins and needles going into your skin
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and then the area around the bite will
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start to burn. So, now let's do some fun
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facts. Here are seven things that you
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might not know about black button
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spiders. Number one, they are only one
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of two spider species in South Africa
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with a venomous bite that can be fatal
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to humans. No. Two, they are also known
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as recluse spiders because they like to
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live in dark undisturbed places.
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Three, they are solitary creatures who
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only come together to mate. Four, after
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mating, the female usually eats the
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male. Five, the female lays her eggs in
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a silk sack that she makes. Six, she
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carries this sack with her until the
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baby spiders are ready to hatch. Seven,
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once the babies are born, they run away
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as fast as they can. This is because
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their venom contains a neurotoxin that
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affects the way that your nerves work.
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Remember, you can follow us for more
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awesome videos about South Africa's
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biodiversity.
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Until next time, go out, explore, and
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discover the amazing things that our
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planet has to offer. And remember, you
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can be a hero of the wild by conserving
1:44
water and protecting our environment.
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Thanks for watching. It causes your
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muscles to contract and it makes you
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feel like your muscles are being pulled
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together. You might also feel sick and
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throw up. This is because the toxin also
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affects the nerves in your stomach,
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which makes it feel like there are worms
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moving around inside of you. But
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although this all sounds very scary, it
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doesn't usually lead to death unless you
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are very young or very old. But the pain
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and cramps and nausea might be enough to
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send you to hospital. The black button
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spider is also known as the indistinct
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widow spider and it's called latradictus
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indistinctus.
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The species was first described by
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Charles Athanasius Wulcanir in 1837
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and the name indistinctus is because the
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red markings on its abdomen is not very
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distinct. They are found throughout
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South Africa but mostly in the western
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Cape and the northern Cape. They like
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dry areas. So you will find them under
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rocks or in wood piles and even in
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ouses. You see these spiders have a
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shiny black body and then on the
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underside of the abdomen they have a red
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or orange hourglass. The males are only
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about 12 mm in body length. They are
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hairy spiders and the hairs on their
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abdomen is very long. Their legs are
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also very long and thin and they are
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good at climbing. But this marking is
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not always visible, hence the name.
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During the day they hide in their webs
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or in burrows that they have made under
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rocks or in wood piles. They build their
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webs in the shape of a funnel and they
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wait for their food to run into the web
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before they grab it. Their food gets
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stuck in the web and then the spider
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wraps its legs around the food and
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starts to eat it. They eat insects that
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fly past like moths and beetles and they
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also eat other spiders. They belong to a
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group of spiders that are known as the
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celer and they are in the order called
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arinia. The females are larger than the
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males and they can grow up to 20 mm in
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body length. These spiders are
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nocturnal, which means that they are
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active at night. If you are bitten by a
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black button spider, the pain might be
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mild at first, but it will get worse
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over time.
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So, if you are bitten by a black button
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spider, you should go to the nearest
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emergency room for treatment.
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I hope you've learned something new
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today. If you did, please give this
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video a thumbs up and share it with your
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