Black Widow (Smithsonian Insects by Safari Ltd.)

So for my Halloween blog review, which I regret is my only one this year, I will be covering the Smithsonian Insects black widow (Latrodectus mactans) by Safari Ltd., originally produced back in 1998. One of my Halloween reviews last year was also L. mactans, but a novelty toy specifically sold as Halloween decor. Today we get to go back to one of the vintage figures by one of the ‘big name’ companies! Every bin set of insects includes a spider, and they are popular this time of year, but uncommonly are they marketed at the genus or species level. When they are, they are usually a black widow or a red-kneed tarantula (Brachypelma). This is not Safari’s only black widow; in 2007 they released another in their Hidden Kingdom Insects line, the successor to the Smithsonian Insects collection (the HK black widow is still available, but it was merged into the Incredible Creatures line with the few remaining HK figures in production). Safari also (at some more recent date, not sure) released a black widow in the Good Luck Mini line. Others of this particular species (or at least what I consider this species) have been produced by Club Earth, CollectA (twice, here and here), Discovery Channel, K&M International, Play Visions, Takara Tomy A.R.T.S., and the aforementioned novelty toy by Easter Unlimited Inc.

Latrodectus mactans, more specifically known as the southern black widow, is distributed in the Southeast quadrant of the United States and the Caribbean and has been naturalized in Hawaii. They tend to make their nests close to the ground, such as among rock piles, vegetation, woodpiles, and rodent burrows, plus around manmade structures, such as barns, sheds and garages, outhouses, etc. They are shy spiders, but they are a venomous species, which makes them a good candidate for a Blog review this month! The venom, which is only dangerous to a human by the bite of a female spider, is alpha-latrotoxin; this toxin binds to receptors at the neuromuscular motor end plate of both sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves, resulting in increased synaptic concentration of catecholamines. The symptoms resulting from a black widow bite is referred to as latrodectism. Deaths are rare, except in extreme elderly, the very young, and those with underlying medical conditions.

Back to the model! The figure measures 5.7 in body length (excluding appendages), resulting in a scale of 7:1-4.4:1. The sculpt is amazing (except for one detail I will get to in a moment). The abdomen is a nice sub-spherical shape. The texturing is well-done, including dimples on the abdomen. Spinnerets and an epigynum are sculpted and the chelicerae are in the correct position. The one mistake, that so many companies get wrong, is the size and arrangement of the eyes. While one can easily excuse Safari for this error, given the era in which it was made, with the size of the figure and the other detail that went into it, one can wonder why the eye arrangement wasn’t also accurate. If you’ve read enough of my Blog and Forum posts, you should know by now this is a very common mistake among spider toys and models.

Unlike the later Hidden Kingdom figure, which is a uniform jet black, today’s figure is painted a brown-black with red-brown accents, much for accurate to the real animal. The characteristic red hourglass is painted, as is a dorsal red macula just above the spinnerets, something frequently seen with L. mactans.

One thing I hadn’t realized until I reviewed the figure for this post, is that the first pair of legs and the last pair of legs have wires in them and are posable! Funny, I never noticed that before. In general, this figure is made of a firmer plastic than the later HK toy.

Overall, even considering its age, this is a winner by Safari! It’s long retired and may be difficult and expensive to acquire. Luckily the Hidden Kingdom figure is still available. Both figures are rather large, so if one wanted a good representative of this species that wasn’t so large, I’d suggest the 2010 version by Takara (a Japanese figure, so again availability and cost might be an issue). Hope you enjoyed the post and our annual Halloween theme!