Latrodectus tredecimguttatus (Rossi, 1790)
Description
Male
Colouration as in female, but opisthosomal blotches whitish.
Body length male: 4-7 mmFemale
Vulva: spermathecae contiguous. Prosoma black, glossy, slightly longer than wide. Prosoma 3.0-5.2 mm long. Legs black, glossy. Opisthosoma black, dorsally with 3 longitudinal series of red blotches, sometimes these blotches are absent and the opisthosoma is entirely black, ventrally with a red blotch behind epigastric furrow, opisthosoma covered with both long hairs and short bifid hairs.
Body length female: 7-15 mmAdditional information
In dry habitats, dunes, sandy beaches, shingle beaches and on low vegetation.
This species can bite humans, as also all other Latrodectus species in the world. Often, a bite causes significant effects, with severe and long-lasting pain in two-thirds of cases, preventing patients from sleeping in one-third of cases. Pain increases in more than half of the cases within the first hour and mostly radiates into the limbs or abdominal pain develops. Typical symptoms include sweating in about 70% of cases and further systemic effects in 20-30% of cases (nausea and vomiting in less than 20%, raised temperature and neuromuscular effects in about 10%, hypertension in less than 10% of cases). Pain usually lasts 1–2 days and the other symptoms 1–4 days. In Europe, bites have become very rare in the last decades. If needed, a symptomatic medical treatment is recommended.
Distribution
Phenology
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Figures
Pedipalp, prolateral view
(Levy 1998b)
Pedipalp, ventral view
(Levy 1998b)
Pedipalp, apical view
(Levy 1998b)
Opisthosoma, dorsal view
(Levy 1998b)
Opisthosoma, dorsal view
(Levy 1998b)
Opisthosoma, lateral view
(Levy 1998b)
Opisthosoma, ventral view
(Levy 1998b)
Opisthosoma, ventral view
(Levy 1998b)
Opisthosoma, ventral view
(Levy 1998b)
Habitus, dorsal view
(Levy 1998b)
Epigyne
(Brignoli 1967c)
Epigyne, ventral view
(Levy 1998b)
Epigyne
(Souri et al. 2024)
Epigyne, variation, ventral view
(Levy 1998b)
Vulva, dorsal view
(Brignoli 1984b)
Vulva, ventral view
(Brignoli 1984b)
Vulva, dorsal view
(Levy 1998b)
Vulva, dorsal view
(Souri et al. 2024)
Prosoma, dorsal view
(Levy 1998b)
Chelicera
(Levy 1998b)
Habitus
(Levy 1998b)
Distribution List
"No references" does not mean that the species does not occur in this country, but that we have not yet inserted the reference for it. We are working on it.
References
Benhacene R, Adjami A, Hadjeb A, Kermiche K, Ouakid M L (2023) Bibliographic checklist of the Algerian spider fauna (Araneae). Zootaxa 5352: 301-357 
Benhalima S, Bosmans R (2024) First historical checklist of spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) from Morocco, between 1840–2024. Zootaxa 5555: 407-535
Blagoev G, Deltshev C, Lazarov S, Naumova M (2018) The spiders (Araneae) of Bulgaria. Version: August 2018. National Museum of Natural History, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Online at http://www.nmnhs.com/spiders-bulgaria/ (accessed on 10.9.2018)
Bosmans R, Chatzaki M (2005) A catalogue of the spiders of Greece – a critical review of all spider species cited from Greece with their localities. Nieuwsbrief van de Belgische arachnologische Vereniging 20 (2, suppl.): 1-124
Bosmans R, Van Keer J, Russell-Smith A, Hadjiconstantis M, Komnenov M, Bosselaers J, Huber S, McCowan D, Snazell R, Decae A, Zoumides C, Kielhorn K-H, Oger P (2019c) Spiders of Cyprus (Araneae). A catalogue of all currently known species from Cyprus. Newsletter of the Belgian Arachnological Society 34, Suppl. 1: 1-173
Branco V V, Morano E, Cardoso P (2019) An update to the Iberian spider checklist (Araneae). Zootaxa 4614: 201-254
Brignoli P M (1967c) Notizie sui Theridiidae del Lazio (Araneae). Fragmenta Entomologica 4: 177-197
Brignoli P M (1984b) Ragni di Grecia XII. Nuovi dati su varie famiglie (Araneae). Revue Suisse de Zoologie 91: 281-321
Danışman T, Kunt K B, Özkütük R S, Coşar İ (2025a) The checklist of the spiders of Turkey. Version 2025 [last updated 01 December 2025], online at http://www.spidersofturkey.info
El-Hennawy H K (2017a) A list of Egyptian spiders (revised in 2017). Serket 15: 167-183
Elkrew H, Hamza A, Ghana S, Shaibi T, Swehli A I, Elmareme H, Ahmad A (2024) Checklist of the spiders (Araneae) of Libya. Pakistan Journal of Life and Social Sciences 22: 19346-19369
Esyunin S L, Efimik V E (1996a) Catalogue of the spiders (Arachnida, Aranei) of the Urals. KMK Scientific Press, Moscow, 228 pp.
Isaia M, Tolve M, Pantini P (2025) Araneae.it: 2.0: the new updated version of the digital catalog of the Italian spiders and other arachnids (Arachnida: Araneae, Opiliones, Scorpiones, Pseudoscorpiones, Palpigradi, Solifugae). Fragmenta Entomologica 57: 197-204
Isbister G K, White J (2004) Clinical consequences of spider bites: recent advances in our understanding. Toxicon 43: 477-492
Kmira G, Nasri-Ammar, Petillon J, Bosmans R (2025) Catalog of the spiders of Tunisia (Arachnida: Araneae). Zootaxa 5641: 1-95
Komnenov M (2010) Checklist of spiders (Araneae) of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Uzizaž i Biospeld 5(2009): 52-69
Komnenov M (2014) Spider fauna of the Osogovo Mt. Range, Northeastern Macedonia. Fauna Balkana 2: 1-267
Kůrka A, Naumova M, Indzhov S, Deltshev C (2020) New faunistic and taxonomic data on the spider fauna of Albania (Arachnida: Araneae). Arachnologische Mitteilungen 59: 8-21
Le Peru B (2007) Catalogue et répartition des araignées de France. Revue Arachnologique 16: 1-468
Levy G (1998b) Araneae: Theridiidae. In Fauna Palaestina, Arachnida III. Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Jerusalem. , 228 pp.
Milosevic B (2002) Aranea – Popis vrsta – Checklist. Hrvatsko entomološko društvo – Inventar entomofaune Hrvatske [Aranea – List of species – Checklist. Croatian Entomological Society – Inventory of Croatian entomofauna].
Naumova M, Lazarov S, Deltshev C (2019a) Faunistic diversity of the spiders in Montenegro (Arachnida: Araneae). Ecologica Montenegrina 22: 50-89
Nentwig W, Gnädinger M, Fuchs J, Ceschi A (2013) A two year study of verified spider bites in Switzerland and a review of the European spider bite literature. Toxicon 73: 104-110
Noordijk J (2023) Een Europese zwarte weduwe Latrodectus tredecimguttatus lift met een caravan mee naar Nederland (Araneae: Theridiidae) [An European black widow Latrodectus tredecimguttatus hitches a ride with a caravan to the Netherlands (Araneae: Theridiidae). Nederlandse Faunistische Mededelingen 60: 107-109
Otto S (2022) Caucasian spiders. A faunistic database on the spiders of the Caucasus Ecoregion. Database version 02.2022. Internet: caucasus-spiders.info.
Polchaninova N, Prokopenko E (2019) An updated checklist of spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) of Left-Bank Ukraine. Arachnologische Mitteilungen 57: 60-64 & App
Ponomarev A V (2022) Spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) of the southeast of the Russian Plain: catalogue, the fauna specific features. SSC RAS Publishers, Rostov-on-Don, 640 pp.
Souri, A. M., Shafaie, S., Moradmand, M. & Mirshamsi, O (2024) The spider genus Latrodectus Walckenaer, 1805 (Araneae, Theridiidae) in Iran with the first record of Latrodectus revivensis Shulov, 1948. Journal of Insect Biodiversity and Systematics 10: 99-109
Vasiliev A I, Mikhailov K G (2023) Annotated checklist of spiders (Araneae) of the Republic of Moldova. Invertebrate Zoology 20: 307-342
Vrenozi B (2022) Venomous spiders of Albania – does an increase of temperature influence the toxicity of spider venom? Toxicon X 15 (100135): 1-8
Weiss I, Petrișor A (1999) List of the spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) from Romania. Travaux du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle “Grigore Antipa” 41: 79-107
WSC (2026) World Spider Catalog. Version 27. Natural History Museum Bern, online at http://wsc.nmbe.ch (13.2.2026) doi: 10.24436/2
Zarikian N, Dilbaryan K, Khachatryan A, Harutyunova L (2023a) Species composition and diversity of spider (Arachnida: Araneae) in the northern forests of Armenia. Biodiversity 24: 66-75
Updates
| 08-06-2025 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 03-06-2025 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 11-12-2024 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 08-05-2024 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 03-02-2024 | Image insert | |
| 14-08-2023 | Distribution insert | Detail |
| 02-06-2023 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 13-05-2023 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 29-01-2021 | Distribution insert | Detail |
| 27-10-2020 | Gallery image insert | |
| 08-06-2020 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 29-04-2020 | Distribution insert | Detail |
| 04-02-2020 | Datasheet update | Detail |
| 01-12-2013 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 26-11-2013 | Datasheet update | Detail |