Death on Our Doorstep

Since Butterscrotch abandoned us, Trevor and I had taken a liking to a new random, outdoor pet, a big ugly spider.  This spider set up it's web right at the bottom left corner of the front door.  She uses the door frame, the bush, and who ever's shoe stinks the most (and therefore gets left outside) as her anchor points for her elaborate 3-dimensional web.  When we open the door she sometimes will scramble towards the bush, but other than that she doesn't really seem all that afraid of us.  And we don't mind her either. But,

 I just made Trevor kill her.


You see, when I arrived home from my soccer game tonight, I was greeted by a locked door.  As I fumbled through my purse for the keys, I noticed our little spider friend futzing around in her web.  She's a pretty big spider and the biologist in me thought maybe it's about time to classify her species.  Did you forget I love science?  So I got a closer look at her and was trying to see if I could pick out any distinguishing features...spots, stripes, furry legs...nothing really stood out.  She is oftentimes hanging upside down in her web and at closer inspection I could make out a red spot on her abdomen....

Red spot on a big ugly black spider ring a bell?

Well it turns out that all signs point to her being a black widow whose powerful venom harbors a substantial dose of neurotoxin which could cause major muscle/joint paint, nausea, heart problems and other unpleasant things like shock, coma, and death.  And to think such a lethal little critter just sits outside our doorstep.  Not anymore.

She's dead now.  And hopefully she didn't leave any eggs in our shoes...

And hopefully she is not to blame for Butterscrotch's disappearance...