Wolf vs Widow

The other day, I was being tormented by a seven-legged wolf spider in my front entrance. It had been there for a couple of days. I don't like killing things unnecessarily, so I had been leaving it alone, in hopes that it would MOVE ALONG! Unfortunately it did NOT move along.

So when I went to leave for work on Monday, I just knew I was going to have to face the wolf spider once more when I walked out my front door. So I went through my regular routine: broom in hand, slowly open front door, tapping it with the broom so that the vibration will go through the door and warn any spiders on the other side that I am coming through, creak the door open slowly, look to the right around the door frame and assure myself that no spiders are there, look through the crack of the door hinge area to assure myself that no spiders are in that area, step into the front screened area and look around the outside of the door to assure myself that no spiders are on the front of the door or anywhere in the room, and open the front screened door to make sure that none are hiding on the other side of it (we have opened the screen door on a number of occasions to find a wolf spider sitting on the other side). I have to go through this routine EVERY day!

So on Monday I began my routine, but just after opening the door I spotted this...


This was across from the front door, next to the screened door. I recognized the crumpled form of a dead wolf spider hanging in some webbing. I got my camera and got in closer for a pic. Then I noticed something. Take a closer look at that picture above. Down below, don't you notice what appear to be two thinner legs sticking out from the dead wolf spider? I recognized these legs. These are the thin striped legs of a brown widow.

So, the wolf spider had gotten caught in the webbing of the brown widow, and the widow had taken care of the wolf spider for me!

When I went to leave the house, I opened the screen door, and the vibration caused the widow to dart into her little webbed hideaway...


When I came home yesterday, I got a shot of her hiding in there. You can see the red of the hourglass on her belly...

I knew there was a reason that I keep brown widows around! They will eat wolf spiders! (You may remember that I've had a number of run ins with brown widows like on my trash cans - TWICE - and I even got video of one with a caterpillar.) I may have to let this girl stay here for awhile. I just won't be able to let the cats out onto this front porch while she's around!