“And here, my prize, the Black Widow. Isn’t she lovely?…And so deadly. Her kiss is fifteen times as poisonous as that of the rattlesnake. You see her venom is highly neurotoxic, which is to say that it attacks the central nervous system causing intense pain, profuse sweating, difficulty in breathing, loss of consciousness, violent convulsions and, finally…Death. You know what I think I love the most about her is her inborn need to dominate, possess. In fact, immediately after the consummation of her marriage to the smaller and weaker male of the species she kills and eats him…(laugh) oh, she is delicious…And I hope he was!”
Those words are part of Vincent Price’s introduction to “The Black Widow” on Alice Cooper’s 1975 album “Welcome to My Nightmare”.
While I was working on the gray water system this afternoon, I found a black widow where they like to be — in wet, humid areas — like the underside of the cover for the distribution hub for the gray water system. She seemed a little stunned by her sudden exposure to the sunlight, and allowed me to do several photos of her underside from different angles; but then I got too close and she scampered under some of the mulch. While I was cleaning out the pipes, she ran out on the cover to dry herself after I apparently got her wet. She allowed me to do several macro shots from a top view while she was drying out; therefore, the series gives you a detailed look at Vincent’s prize “The Black Widow”.
Off Center & Not Even 
OMG….
Isn’t she lovely?
They’re very beautiful creatures, but very CREEPY! hehehehe
…any relation to Vincent Price? 🗿
Most likely not. Many years ago, I met VB Price, who lives in Albuquerque, and we decided if there were any relations between us, they were very distant.
Ugh! All creatures are beautiful, except snakes, rats and people trying to see you things. And black widows!!
Ah! Come on Brenda. Snakes are beautiful (pythons are great huggers), rats are snake food, and black widows are lovely!
LOL I’m entitled to have my skin crawl… I do appreciate that snakes eat rats. They should eat more. Some snakes are quite beautiful on the other side of glass, but hiking in West Virginia has turned me off snakes — I saw a water moccasin 10 feet long. It was bigger around than my arm. It was not behind glass. As for a spider, they can be beautiful. They can also be huge and scary and move incredibly fast.
We don’t have water moccasins out here, but if I was in WV and came across one, I would photograph it from as many angles and as close as I could get to it. Moccasins are serious snakes, and account for a lot of snakebites in the US every year. Same goes for copperheads, which we don’t have, either. Fortunately, most of the seriously venomous snakes we have in NM have rattles.
I was also warned about copperheads, but I didn’t see one of those.
Macro shots and a Black Widow…?? No, thank you… I’ll stick to the Alice Cooper album. 😉
The Alice Cooper album is quite good!
I wouldn’t say lovely as I wouldn’t want to meet one that’s for sure. But a wonder of nature yes.
Nature is wonderful! Especially when you have a macro lens:)
No way would I get that close to it. You are a brave man
Oh My God…. 🙂
Do you have black widows in Istanbul?
No, we don’t have as I know 🙂
Amazing pictures…..glad you always have your camera nearby.
Thanks!
Incredible photos!
Thanks, Cindy!
You know I have to love this series!
Liked, but in fact, I am afraid of them and do not like them. )))) Great photo, Timothy!
Thanks, Alex! Good to have you back:)