They’re helping you, not hurting you.” Editor’s note: This article was updated at 5:35 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17, 2023, to correct that the red hourglass shape is on black widow spider’s abdomens.

A black widow spider with an egg sac. The spider can be found in every state other than Alaska. Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images "And unlike bees and wasps, they do not leave their dwelling to ...

Black widows become the hunted Black widows are a native spider in the U.S., and the Southern black widow, or Latrodectus mactans, is the species commonly found all over the Southeast.