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prinnay · 3 months

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Hunters

Newsletter / Art Blog / Prints

#CW SPIDERS #description in alt text #black widows #brooklyn #artists on tumblr

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uncharismatic-fauna · 2 months

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No Tears for the Southern Black Widow

Latrodectus mactans, more commonly known as the southern black widow, is the most common species in the black widow family. While it can be found throughout North America, they are found most often in the southern United States. Within this wide range, L. mactans enjoys a variety of habitats. They prefer areas that are close to the ground, dark, and sheltered; in the wild this may mean dense brush or under logs, while in inhabited areas they may be found in basements, log piles, or under trash lids.

In addition to being the most common black widow, L. mactans is also the largest member of the family Theridiidae. The females are larger than the males, averaging at about 8-10 mm (0.31- 0.39 in) in length and weighing about 1 g (0.04 oz); however the male's legs are generally longer than the females. Both males and females are black, with small thoraxes and extremely large, round abdomens. The female can be distinguished by the iconic red hour-glass shape on the underside of her abdomen, while the male has 4 pairs of red and white stripes on each side of his abdomen.

The southern black widow is mainly solitary, spending most of its time in or near its web. Only the females live long enough to build a web for catching prey, and are the sole source of black widow bites. While bites do require medical attention, no human fatalities have been reported since 1983.

During the day, females hang in the center of the web to expose the bright red warning on their abdomen; when startled they drop to the ground and play dead. Though the webs they construct are haphazard-- the stereotype of cobwebs-- they are extremely strong and are capable of catching woodlice, millipedes, centipedes, other spiders, and occasionally small mice. Once an animal becomes trapped in L. mactan's web, the spider envenoms its prey and wraps it in a thick cocoon. After the animal dies the spider injects it with digestive enzymes and consumes the resulting fluid. Despite their strong venom, the southern black widow can be victim to several predaotrs; namely wasps, the brown widow spider, praying mantises, and large centipedes.

The southern black widow mates primarily in the spring and summer. Mature males build small webs and deposit semen along the threads. He then coats his mouthpieces-- palps-- with sperm and sets out to find a female mate. To court her, he vibrates the threads of her web until she is receptive. On rare occasions, a displeased female may eat the male. Afterwards, if he survives, the male leaves the females web and dies soon afterwards. From just one encounter, the female can store enough sperm to last her a lifetime of reproductive cycles.

After fertilization, the female builds a small web where she lays her egg sac, which can contain up to 400 eggs. She guards these eggs until they hatch about 20 days later, and immedietly disperse to establish their own territories. Until they become fully mature, at about 90 days old, juveniles have no venom and are extremely vulnerable to predators- including adult black widows. Typically only about 30 individuals from a single clutch survive to adulthood. Once mature, males can live for only one year, while females can live up to three years in the wild.

Conservation status: The IUCN has not evaluated the southern black widow, but due to its large range and population size it is considered stable. It is able to adapt to most habitats, and thus the species' only threat comes from extermination via pest control.

If you send me proof that you’ve made a donation to UNRWA or another organization benefiting Palestinians, I’ll make art of any animal of your choosing.

Photos

Mark Kostich

James L. Castner

Meghan F. Murphy

#southern black widow #Araneae #Theridiidae #black widows #true widows #tangle-web spiders #cobweb spiders #spiders #arachnids #arthropods #generalist fauna #generalist arthropods #urban fauna #urban arthropods #north america #southern north america

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questionableratatouille00 · 5 months

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HEY IDEA

I don’t know if it’s been used or done before

but a trigger for Bucky could be the sound of a blender or a mixer. Like the wrrrrrrr sound. I feel like the electric chair thing he was in would’ve made some kinda noise, right? like, right before the things pressed against his head and electrocuted him, he would’ve been able to hear whatever noise it made

tagging ships so artists/writers can see and use this if they want

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes #sambucky #winterhawk #winterbones #hydra trash party #buckynat #red room #black widows #marvel #Mcu #marvel mcu #marvel cinematic universe

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arachnophanatic · 5 months

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Found some more western black widows (Latrodectus hesperus) still hanging on for winter!

TOP LEFT: mature male inside the webbed “retreat” built at the upper corner of a female’s web

TOP RIGHT: the female came back (that’s the male in the foreground)

BOTTOM LEFT: clearer view of the male loitering in the female’s web after being kicked out of her room

BOTTOM RIGHT: other female living a couple yards away, who is not involved in this real estate conflict

#spiders #spider #black widows #cobweb spiders #Theridiidae #my photos

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sunny-rants · 5 months

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fixerupperofarrendelle · 2 years

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💔Natasha/Yelena quotes that make me cry:

“I need to find Natasha. Can you help me find Natasha? I need to tell her I’m okay.”

“Forgive me, little sister. It was real to me, too.”

“Don’t let them take your heart.”

“We’re both upside down.”

“I should have come back for you.”

“My sister saved the world. Natasha Romanoff, she saved the world.”

“You got so much time with her.”

“I loved her so much.”

#natasha and yelena #yelena and natasha #black widow fic #black widows #natasha romanoff #yelena belobva

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captainofamillionlittletimes · 11 months

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Yelena Belova is canonically aroace pass it on

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nocternalrandomness · 1 year

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Vipers of the 425th FS “Black Widows” Luke AFB, AZ

#USAF #AETC #425th FS #Black Widows #Luke AFB #General Dynamics #F-16 #Viper #Fighting Falcon #Fighter aircraft #Military #Aircraft

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antiqueanimals · 2 years

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Spiders and Scorpions. Written by J.L. Cloudsley Thompson. Illustrated by Joyce Bee. 1974.

#bugs #arachnids #spiders #black widows #Joyce Bee

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quietlyimplode · 2 years

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leave everything but your bones behind

Whumptober 2022: day 15 - emotional damage

Warnings: violence I guess?

Word Count: 1.5k (gif not mine)

Summary: Natasha becomes unwell and only the Red Room can fix her. The choice is die or go back to the very place that made her.

A/N: halfway :) <3 (I’m very over the monotony of posting daily; why is it so hard?! Help.)

Main Masterlist

Whumptober Masterlist

———

Steve checks his gun and then his watch.

The explosives set on the charge are set to detonate in two minutes.

The compound isn’t large, the size of a small prison and seems to be made up as such. He watches the guards patrol again and shoots the first with deadly aim, and then the second.

He doesn’t like guns.

He doesn’t like those who hurt his friends more.

Idly, he wishes he hadn’t listened to some of Clint’s stories of the Red Room, it makes him feel more feral.

“Ready Cap,” comes Clint’s call.

There’s commotion near where the downed guards are, and he shoots two more that have come to see what is happening.

Ten seconds and he feels the adrenaline dump through him.

His vision narrows and he feels at war.

The explosion rocks the prison.

He ignores the sounds of yelling, that sounds too much like a battlefield.

Soldiers and women run out, the honey trap set.

More, he thinks, he wants more to come out.

The guards fan out and he presses the remote detonator to blast the two charges, sending bodies flying.

It’s a clean up job near him, four down, he becomes pinned behind a wall. The sounds of shooting and shouting and screaming.

“Clint?” he presses the offensive, throwing his shield and hearing it reverberate across the wall, knocking down three.

There’s girls dressed like Natasha, they appear like ghosts.

“Clint; the widows are here,” he calls again. It seems Clint has his own set of issues.

“Change to tranquillisers,” he hears Clint shout, “they’re not going down without a fight, and I don’t want to kill them. It’s not our call.”

He sounds out of breath.

Steve changes guns, holstering the lethal one and holds his shield in his other hand, as he wonders just how potent these are.

“Go for the neck,” he advises, as the first dart shot into the widows chest doesn’t even slow her down. He throws his shield again, but they vault over it easily.

Distracted, they don’t expect the shot of the dart that hits two of them in the neck as they drop immediately.

Potent then, he surmises grimly.

Two more launch at him as he runs away, hiding beyond the gate they came through.

He climbs quickly as they catch up to him, reading his stance, as they both exchange blows.

They’re fast, and strong, and don’t hold back.

It’s luck that another charge explodes, and he gets off two shots whilst they’re distracted.

“Clint?” he calls, watching as four more widows approach, “where are you?”

“At medical,” Clint responds quickly, “I’ve found her, they’ve got her guarded. We’ll be coming out hot, can you cover us?”

Steve hears a shout and then… swearing.

He quickly reloads the gun and fires on the women.

Two drop, but the third and fourth still come.

He runs to where he left Clint, the two in hot pursuit as he throws a smoke bomb, then a frag grenade that lights up the path.

It’s knocked them over, and he takes the opportunity to shoot them so they don’t keep coming.

More shouting, and Clint yells that he’s coming.

The sewage pipes are large, and stink more than Steve wants to admit.

He tells Clint he’s setting charges for them to collapse once they’re free and clear; which he does with the remote charges.

He throws in two smoke grenades for cover and waits.

“Now!!” Clint shouts as he emerges; Natasha unconscious in his arms.

Steve does as he’s told covering them both; and sets the charges off.

The tunnel collapses inwards, he hopes not on any widows.

They race to the car, the compound flaming and smoke billowing as they leave.

Clint holds onto Natasha for dear life as Steve gets in, the Quinjet parked not far away.

It just feels too far right now.

.

Clint can hear the commotion, the distraction working as he works his way into the belly of the beast.

Medical isn’t that far from the point he emerges. He tries to keep out of the sight of the cameras, but it’s almost impossible.

He just hopes they’re so distracted by Steve that they don’t even think to look inwards.

Steve tells him the widows are coming for him.

He wants to wish him luck. He doesn’t want to kill them, wondering if they all are as tragic as Natasha.

There’s a reason that they chose girls no one would miss.

Looking to his left, he realises that medical is a locked ward.

He should have known.

The swipe key is on a guard.

He shoots him as he comes round the corner; uncaring, knowing exactly what the guards in this place are known for.

Steve calls to him. He knows it can’t be this easy.

“We’ll be coming out hot,” he assumes. Even if they won’t be, he wants to burn this place to the ground.

Taking the swipe card, he enters, finding two widows and Natasha strapped to a gurney.

“You're here for her,” one says, as he raises his gun.

“Let her go,” he asks, his Russian stilted.

“She’s a traitor!” The other shouts. “She will always be ours. She will always be one of us!”

He shoots her in the neck, dropping her immediately.

The other swears, loud, as he shoots her too.

Natasha looks to him with dead eyes as he approaches her.

“Hey,” he says softly. “You’re okay, tell me you’re okay.”

“I’m okay,” she says robotically, eyes staring straight through him.

He reaches to touch her and she can’t help the involuntary flinch.

“Tell me what’s wrong?” he asks, backing off, hands up.

“I know you, don’t I?” she says in thick Russian, a languid blink

He stops in his tracks, looking her up and down.

“What?”

What have they done?

“I’m telling you want’s wrong. She.. I know you.”

Natasha shakes her head, squeezing her eyes shut as if in pain. She swallows visibly.

“Of course you know me,” Clint says slowly.

“Are you here to kill me?”

The question is like a sucker punch.

He hasn’t moved but know he has to; Steve is likely to get pinned, and there’s surely more widows coming. If not them, then the guards of the building.

“No, Nat, no,” he placates, unstrapping her from the chair; worried at the way her body is shaking slightly.

“I am not Natasha,” she tells him, getting up off the gurney, slightly angry and a frown on her grey face.

“Of course you are,” he says; making her stand on shaking legs.

There’s a grunt as her legs buckle and he tries to catch her.

She strikes first and hard, punching him in the face. He’s ready though, he’s thankful that even when she’s not herself, she’s predictable.

Clint takes the punch, rolling his body into hers, stabbing her with the injector and depressing the needle.

“No,” she whispers, tired eyes staring at him.

.

Steve is quiet as Clint checks the auto pilot.

Tony sits on the other side watching them both carefully.

Holding her hand, Steve squeezes it hard, hoping it conveys everything he needs it to.

Her widow suit has tears through it, the thick material frayed, but they don’t want to remove it without medical being present. Clint already suspects a broken arm.

Steve’s breathing quickens, he starts to panic; what if’s slamming into his brain like gunshots, as he notices blood on her mouth.

In war, everything was fair game. The women in that compound weren’t at war, but they were being trained for it.

Moved like soldiers, reacted like them. Enemies of America, his brain supplies.

He can feel his breathing quicken, and closes his eyes.

Bringing her cold hand to his face, he smells gunpowder on his own hand.

Steve remembers sitting with Bucky, the war raging as they shared a meal and talked about home.

The flashback isn’t bad, more of a memory, but still leaves him desolate that Natasha might have similar memories of her own wars.

She doesn’t have memories of home, not that she’s told him about.

What would she talk about with someone on a step?

What good memories does she have to keep her going through any of this?

How old was she when she got out the first time?

He holds her hand tighter, wanting to convey everything in it. That he’s sorry, sorry for everything she’s had to endure; that they sent her back into a hell because they couldn’t fix what the Russians had broke.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers, breathing shallowly.

“Hey,” Tony’s voice breaks through his melancholy, “hey, let go.”

Gentle hands take his from Natasha’s, and he realises from the redness just how hard he’s been gripping it.

“She’s going to be okay,” Tony tells him, repositioning her hands by her side.

Unconvinced, Steve stands, joins Clint, and leaves Tony with Natasha, pain holding his heart as he looks back tentatively, wondering if things can ever be okay again.

.

#whumptober2022 #no.15 #emotional damage #marvel fic #avengers fanfiction #steve rogers fic #natasha romanoff fic #clint barton fic #natasha romanoff #clintasha #black widow #clint barton #my fic #hawkeye #clintasha fanfiction #tony stark #red room #black widows

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missmarvelobsession · 1 year

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#natasha romanoff #yelena belova #black widow #white widow #natasha and yelena #sisters #black widows #mcu #marvel #god I love Yelena #natasha is patient with her of course #but is this really the time for a selfie?

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eyerobertson · 2 months

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💟💟💟

#my art #artist of tumblr #oil painting #lips #horror #black widows #spiders #tw blood

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heroicadventurists · 2 years

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Marvel Zombies

Rated MA

Premiering on Disney + 2024

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arachnophanatic · 5 months

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Consolidation post for the development of the female Western black widow (Latrodectus hesperus) that I’ve been trying to keep tabs on since last month:

11/3/2023