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Redback Spider - female
Latrodectus hasselti
-37.8999, 145.312
Field Notes
Description:
This female redback shows a prominent red stripe on the back (pic 1) and some red on the underside (pic 2).
Spotted at night, it had descended to the centre of its web which was a tangle of silk stretching from its retreat in a crack between the bricks and the paved ground below.
The flash from the camera made it dart back up the web, where I could see discarded remnants of insects.
Habitat:
Spotted outside a building.
Notes:
Female redbacks are larger than males which are about 4 mm and they take 4 months to mature.
Redbacks are venomous but there has been no fatalities since the '50s when an antivenin was made available. Redbacks are found in dry sheltered spots around buildings. <br>
Family: Theridiidae
Reference Links:
Latrodectus hasselti Thorell, 1870 Redback Spider
Species ID Suggestions
Spotted for Missions
Photographed
PublishedMarch 16, 2017
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