ASU researchers study black widow spiders to understand urban heat adaptation

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Published October 18, 2026 1:59 PM MST

The Brief

    • Arizona State University students are researching how black widow spiders adapt to urban heat compared to those in desert environments.
    • The study indicates that urban male black widows survive higher temperatures significantly better than desert males.
    • Researchers note female black widows are staying active longer, which signals increasingly warmer winters in Arizona.

PHOENIX - Creepy and poisonous, people often stay away from black widows. But Arizona State University researchers say a thing or two can actually be learned from the spider.

Spider Season:

It is the season for the creepy and crawly. But at ASU's West Arizona campus, that season is year-round.

"They're just astonished. They're like, you actually work with black widows?" said Marissa France, a student and research aide at ASU.

Adapting Creatures:

ASU students Katharine Smas and Marissa France are research aides in the lab all about black widows and how they fare in urban heat.

"It's interesting to see how they're able to adapt. That's something we could potentially follow as humans in our own lives," Smas said.

Weather Impacts?:

They are also looking at how the desert males did in hotter temperatures versus the urban males.

"The desert males actually died faster when they were introduced to higher heat temperatures, which was kind of expected," Smas added.

The study shows urban males, maybe found in an alleyway or shed, have adapted to the heat caused by urbanization, like more pavement and car exhaust and less vegetation. The behavior of the arthropod critters also informs people about the climate.

"Black widows. They're typically in the hot summer months, but we've been seeing the females stay out longer, which is really showing that our winters in Arizona have been becoming increasingly warmer," Smas said.

Big picture view:

The research aides are also using the black widow lab to further their studies as they pursue majors in forensic science.

"We are examining the epigenome of spiders, which has not really been done before," France said.

Dig deeper:

They are saying the benefits of the lab stretch beyond these four walls and eight-legged creatures.

"It opened up a world of possibilities which has led me to the other research lab I'm a part of which is toxicology on campus," France explained.

"Every discovery is always very important in advancing science. So I'm very grateful to be a part of a lab that's able to do that," Smas said.

The Source: Information in this report was gathered from Marissa France, a student and research aide at ASU; Katharine Smas, a student and research aide at ASU; and FOX 10 reporter Annalisa Pardo.

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