SPIDERS
Any spider has the potential to bite and cause a localized allergic reaction, including the fearsome looking and large Brown Huntsman spider commonly found in houses and gardens in suburban Perth. However, of particular interest is the Redback Spider (Latrodectus hasselti), the Australian ’cousin’ of the notorious North American Black Widow spider. Redback SpiderThe Redback Spider’s venom contains neurotoxins and cause severe pain and serious illness in humans and pets, but a bite is rarely fatal. Symptoms of envenomation include localized pain, swelling, nausea/vomiting, fever and in severe cases, paralysis. The adult female red back is about 2-3 cm long, quite black, with a distinctive red stripe on its abdomen. The male is usually much smaller and considered to be harmless. Redbacks enjoy building their webs in dry, sheltered sites, such as sheds, garage doors, aviaries, rocks, logs, wood piles, junk piles and especially toilets! Insects are the usual prey of Redbacks, but they are capable of capturing larger animals via web entanglement, such as other larger spiders, crickets and small lizards or skinks. Prey-stealing is also a common behaviour, with large females taking stored food items from other spiders’ webs. On an interesting note, Daddy-long-legs Spiders and White-tailed Spiders are known to catch and kill Redback Spiders.
Fortunately for Perth residents and their pets, the spider that is considered one of the world’s most venomous, namely the Sydney Funnel Web (Atrax robustus), is not found in Western Australia. The Sydney Funnel Web spider is found mainly near Sydney (from Newcastle to Nowra and as far west as Lithgow). Related species are found along the eastern coast of New South Wales. There have been some reports of sightings as far north as Brisbane, Queensland.
