---
title: "European Black Widow"
description: "Latrodectus tredecimguttatus — Insects & spiders. Latrodectus tredecimguttatus, also known as the Mediterranean black widow or the European black widow, is a species in the genus Latrodectus of the widow spiders."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/european-black-widow
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# European Black Widow

> Latrodectus tredecimguttatus — Insects & spiders. Latrodectus tredecimguttatus, also known as the Mediterranean black widow or the European black widow, is a species in the genus Latrodectus of the widow spiders.

- Scientific name: *Latrodectus tredecimguttatus*
- Category: `insects` (Insects & spiders)
- Habitats: unknown
- iNaturalist observations: 1157
- Wikidata: [Q756200](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q756200)
- iNaturalist taxon: [151791](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/151791)

## Names

- en: European Black Widow
- de: Europäische Schwarze Witwe
- es: Viuda negra europea
- fr: Veuve noire méditerranéenne
- nl: Europese zwarte weduwe
- pl: Karakurt

## Countries with the most observations

ES (163), UA (144), FR (123), RU (112), IT (105), KZ (97), HR (73), PT (38), GR (34), MA (29), TR (22), IL (19)

## Summary

Latrodectus tredecimguttatus, also known as the Mediterranean black widow or the European black widow, is a species in the genus Latrodectus of the widow spiders. It is commonly found throughout the Mediterranean region and central Asia, hence the name. Specimens from central Asia are also known by the binomial name Latrodectus lugubris; that name, however, is now considered improper, though it is still commonly found in the literature. Latrodectus tredecimguttatus was previously considered a subspecies of Latrodectus mactans.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectus_tredecimguttatus

## Photo

![European Black Widow](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/european-black-widow/medium.jpg)

Photo: 0959kedi · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/260641020

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/european-black-widow?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).