Black widow

Sitting out on the patio two nights ago, I spied this lovely lady lurking in the shadows nearby. I was thrown off by the coloration a little bit, but some Web research (no pun intended) quickly revealed that they don't become fully black until they're completely mature.

It's always pleased/comforted me to know that there are quasi-dangerous animals around that we have the possibility of running into on a daily basis. People in general want things to be safe and homogenized, and don't want to worry about things like having an alligator eat their poodle when they're out for a walk. They want nature out of their lives except when it's convenient. Now by no means do I want to get mauled by a puma when I'm out hiking, but at the same time, I like knowing that all the different facets of a given ecosystem are there and working, even the ones that could potentially have an adverse effect on our existence. But any animals that fall into that category - be it a spider, rattlesnake, coyote, puma, or whatever - would much rather be left alone and in most circumstances would only bite/sting/attack out of a last resort, hunger, or to protect their offspring. And I know that people don't always like to have common sense enter the equation, but hey - keep your cats inside and coyotes won't eat them.

So anyway, thanks for hanging out, spider. It's good to have you around.

Edit: Thanks to alert reader Mysterydater, it was pointed out that this is most likely a brown widow (who knew?), a species that's actually been in Southern California for a while, despite some hubbub on Yahoo! about it being a new threat.