Support for LAist comes from
Become a sponsor
Local and national news, NPR, things to do, food recommendations and guides to Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire
Donate
Stay Connected

LAist is part of Southern California Public Radio, a member-supported public media network.

Listen
Donate
Podcasts Off-Ramp
Brown widow v. black widow: Listener says our interview didn't make Spidey sense
Off-Ramp with John Rabe Hero Image
(
Dan Carino
)
Apr 30, 2014
Listen • 1:30
Brown widow v. black widow: Listener says our interview didn't make Spidey sense
... in which a listener chastises Rabe for not asking the difference between black widow and brown widow webs.
The poisonous black widow spider, under pressure in SoCal from the brown widow, which hails from Florida.
The poisonous black widow spider, under pressure in SoCal from the brown widow, which hails from Florida.
(
Rick Vetter
)

... in which a listener chastises Rabe for not asking the difference between black widow and brown widow webs.

Last week, I ran an interview with Rick Vetter, a spider expert at UC Riverside, who told us how the brown widow spider, an invasive species, is pushing the native black widow spider out of Southern California's urban areas.

Listener Dennis McCoy called to complain. You never asked about the webs of the two spiders, he said. Are they different? Is the brown widow's web as sticky as the black widow's?

True enough. I didn't ask and I should have. After all, a web is to a spider like a muffin recipe is to Susan Stamberg. So, we put the question to Rick Vetter and he said ...

Well, listen to the audio to hear Mr. McCoy's question and Vetter's answer.