I managed to catch one in a jar once. It was REALLY hard. They are super fast and run away to hide as soon as you touch the web. I think the only reason I ever manage to see them is that their bodies are so shiny and round.

I've never even seen one.

It's easy to have them all over and never see one. I see a bunch of webs right now that are definitely theirs and frequently egg sacs from them, but it's rare to actually the see the spider. I get the impression that they take care of business and flee back into hiding as soon as possible (they probably should, we have a number of wasps like the cowkiller that would love to paralyze them, lay eggs in them, and bury them alive). They don't seem to just sit in the middle of their web, like an orb weaver would, they hide in something like a box (or a jack in the case of the one I caught) and wait for something to get caught in their web. The web runs into their hiding spot so they can feel it without exposing themselves.

We also have brown recluses, copperhead snakes, scorpions, what are evidently coyote-mexican wolf hybrids - but snake encounters are rare, the coywolves and scorpions are afraid, and the recluses are just everywhere and keep to themselves. It's only obvious how venomous they are when they kill something like an anole (terrible way to go for the lizard). I have been dry-bitten for sticking my hand somewhere stupid, but it wasn't bad.

There are very few dangerous creatures around here and I'm glad about that.

I love copperheads. There are some venomous snakes in Mexico City, in the southern woods. Scorpions and all that. Also racoons, possums and really big rats. And squirrels, going from red to black.

Just to be clear, we are talking about putting a spider in a jar, not something else, right?

I had one for three years or so. I got her as a baby and wanted to find a home for her, like an apiary or something, but everybody wanted to kill her, so I kept it in a habitat I made. I fed her crickets and other bugs and she was a really beautiful animal if you ask me. I had to change her habitat every three months or so, so I made a holding aparattus of sort with a straw to keep her from running away. My kids hated it, specially when I held her in my hand. And she bit me once, but I can tell you for sure that they sometimes bite without poison and even if they do, their venom is not so strong to kill you, unless you already have health problems.

I have really bad pictures of her on my Facebook, If you remind me how to paste pictures I'll show them to you.

I've seen and caught a few black widows here in the bay area, CA. You just have to know where to look.

Was clearing a friend's garage in south san jose about 15 years ago, saw a black widow with albinism.

I knew there was a paler variant called the brown widow, but I had no idea they could have albinism. That could probably be its own post.

It definitely had some form of albinism gling on.

Normally the whiter brown widows still have light brown on them. I recall this one having legs that were white with no brown markings. Its hour glass was pinkish.

Jeez. Now I really wish I had one. I have only seen albino roaches. They are kinda cool looking, but I am not so sure I want to keep them as pets.

What color was she when you found her?

Ok, I'm no spider expert, but that looks like a mygalomorph, not an araneomorph. The difference is the mygalomorph has those signature downward pointing jaws, while the araneomorph has jaws that point toward eachother, like scissors. And black widows are definitely in the latter group.

Yes, it's a spider thread.

Post spiders.

I saw this one too, shame it had to be put up after I already made this thread.

Oh well, zeFrank is the best regardless.