The Black Widow Spider tending its web and egg sac.
The Black Widow Spider attacking a beetle caught in her web. She searchs the beetle to find an opening in the beetle's armor where she can sink her fangs and inject her venom. Once she injects her venom, she starts wrapping the beetle in strands of web silk.
Black Widow Spider venom is very potent! As you can see, even though the beetle is considerably larger than the spider, the beetle starts showing the effects of the venom just a few seconds after being bitten.
Now that the beetle is bound by web silk and has stopped damaging her web, the Black Widow Spider repairs and fortifies her web so it will withstand the extra weight of the beetle as she eats it. [Time-lapse Video]
The Black Widow Spider starts to enjoy her meal now. She searches to find suitable openings in the beetle's armor that will allow her to suck out the beetle's digested organs. [Time-lapse Video]
The baby black widow spiders emerge from the egg sac. Notice how the mother black widow spider hides away from the babies, probably to keep from being eaten by them. [Time-lapse Video]
A day or two after her big beetle meal, the black widow spider spins another egg sac and lays more eggs. Watch closely! When she completes about half of her egg sac, she begins depositing her eggs in it. Notice that she accomplishes all of this while she is hanging upside down.
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