Black widow spiders require about four months from egg to maturity. Egg laying is restricted to the warm months. The females produce several egg sacs (containing hundreds of eggs) during their one- to two-year life span. The female black widow usually spins a silken web in protected places such as under stones, house steps, decks, etc. The widow is most apt to bite when her eggs are threatened. The spider is rarely found inside houses. The southern black widow is a glossy black spider with a red hourglass marking on the underside of its abdomen. The typically red markings may be orange, yellow or rarely white. The smaller male widow spiders can be distinguished from the females by the swollen (knob-like) palpal organs projecting from the front of the head. Male black widows and immatures and other widow spiders (red and brown widows) pose little health threat.