Question: what makes a black widow's venom so potent that the antidote has to be kept in the container the spider is in?

Sarah-Jane Walsh answered on 19 Jun 2013:

Its actually a myth that the black widow is super deadly! Yes its harmful but its rarely lethal. After being bitten you still have several hours before needing treatment. People who die usually have underlying weaknesses or disorders or are very young or very old.

The black widows venom is a neurotoxin called Latrotoxin, it affects the victim’s nervous system. This particular neurotoxin enhances acetylcholine release. This can cause involuntary nerve impulses in the body and may cause the victim to lose control of functions like muscle contractions including in the heart.

However people react differently to this neurotoxin, those which are most affected are those who are already at risk such as the elderly, the young, those with immune disorders or other illnesses, heart conditions etc

About 7 people die a year from black widow bites, that’s still more than shark bites but less than those who die from falling coconuts!