Black Widow Spider

(Original Caption) The black widow is probably the deadliest of insects. Her bite is 15 times more potent than that of a rattlesnake and it poisons the human nervous system, resulting in excruciating pain and, not infrequently, death. The antivenin can forestall the pain or stop it if has already started increasing its intensity and becoming excruciating. The black widow, female of the common Latrodectus mactans, is a 100 percent American and an almost 100 percent bad actor. She is a matriarch and her widowhood is self-imposed. When her mate has discharged his duty to her and to the race, she promptly kills and eats him. Undated photograph.