Surprising Find of the Day

Not exactly something I wanted to find! This morning I discovered we had left a colander out on the kitchen counter with grapes in it. When I looked in it, I discovered a dead black spider. Ewwww.....I went to dispose of the grapes and the spider flipped over to reveal a bright red hourglass on its belly! Now, I have never in my lifetime seen a black widow spider, but have heard about them. My mom tells the story of how she was told that black widows have a red hourglass on their belly and she always wondered WHO in their right mind would flip one over to check its belly. It wasn't until years later as an adult that she discovered one in a web under her dining room chair that she realized they hang suspended upside down in their web and you can't miss that red hourglass. Well, I am none too happy to discover this little guy in my kitchen. I am just hoping that he didn't have a wife hanging out and laying eggs! We do know he is a boy. I love the instant information at a click of a button with the internet! We looked up black widows and discovered that this one was small with extra markings which meant it was a boy. I also discovered that in the desert areas of the southwest, there are varieties that have 1 1/2" long bodies and and have a spread of 3 - 4" with their legs. Ick!!! Feeling thankful to be living in the Midwest!