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All spiders can and will bite if in danger or
accidentally touched e.g. in shoes or clothing etc. Any spider bite
can cause a reaction, ranging from a bee or wasp sting type bite to
those requiring hospitalisation. Different people react in
different ways so it is best to be cautious around all spiders and
look but do not handle any spider no matter how it is classified. |
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Web Spinning Spiders |
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St
Andrews Cross Spider: Argiope mangal
These spiders
get their name for the way their hold their eight legs in pairs to
form an X shape. The X is called the St. Andrew's cross because it
is believed that the saint was martyred on a cross of this shape
rather than the conventional + shape. Besides their standard
orb-web, Argiope spiders build additional white opaque zig zag lines
on their webs, called stabilimentum.
Sometimes the zig-zag lines match their leg positions, which lead
some people to suggest that this helps give the appearance of longer
legs. Some spiders build a single vertical line, yet others a patch
of zig zags in the centre of the web. No matter the design, the
spider sits right smack in the middle.
The bite of
this spider is considered harmless or at most to cause a weak local
reaction. Few bites have been recorded. |
Garden Orb Weaver
- Araneus diadematus
The family is a large one, including over 2800
species in over 160 genera. New
species are still being discovered. Orb weavers (Araneidae)
are often brightly coloured with rounded abdomens, some with
peculiarly angled humps or spines. However, there is considerable
variation in size, colour and shape in this group. They are often
recognized for building beautiful, large, round webs, on which they
rest, head downward, waiting for prey. The webs consist of a number
of radiating threads crossed by two spirals. The inner spiral begins
in the centre, winds outward, and is made of smooth threads like the
radiating threads. It covers only the central 1/3 of the web. The
outer spiral begins at the edges and winds inward. It is made of
more elastic, sticky threads, coated with a liquid substance. |
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Araneus Orb Weaver
Generally, orb-weaving spiders are three-clawed
builders of flat webs with sticky spiral capture silk. The web has
always been thought of as an engineering marvel. It is build by the
spider starting with a line floated on the wind to another surface.
The spider secures the line and than drops another line from the center, making a "Y". The rest of the scaffolding follows with the
radii of non-sticky silk being constructed before the final spiral
of sticky capture silk. The third claw is used the walk on the
non-sticky part of the web. Characteristically the prey insect that
blunders into the sticky lines is stunned by a quick bite and then
wrapped in silk. If the prey is a venomous insect, such as a wasp,
wrapping may precede biting. |
Golden Orb Weaver -
Araneidae, genus Nephila
This species is especially
large and spectacular and is well known from tropical north
Queensland, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific. There is a report of this
species laying her eggs in soil. Males are much smaller, about 6mm in
body length, and will often be somewhere in her web and at other
times even clambering on her body. They are called golden orb
weavers after their web which has a golden colour and is remarkably strong.
It has a characteristic yellow colour as does the
fluffy egg sac which tends to be left in the tree the spider
was using for support. |
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Brown House Spider
These spiders belong to the same
family of comb footed spiders as the redback and brown widow. Steatoda species have shiny, slender
legs, with a small cephalothorax and a larger abdomen, which is
somewhat egg-shaped in Steatoda. Mature females grow to
about 1.2 cm, while the males are slightly smaller. The colour can range from a brown or reddish plum to satiny
black. The abdomen often has white or beige spots, a frontal
crescent, and sometimes, small red spots or a thin red line (but
never a stripe like a Redback Spider). They build a
tangled-looking web with sticky lines (a gum-footed web) under
rocks, timber and bark in the bush. Bites from Steatoda
species occur infrequently. The
bite of the brown house spider is not lethal, but may cause
headaches or nausea. Small blisters may occur around the bite site.
It can be treated with Red back antivenom. |
Bird Dropping Spider
Other names for this spider are the Death's Head Spider,
as its markings can also resemble the shape of a skull, and the
Orchard Spider, because it is often seen on fruit trees where moths,
its main source of food, may be abundant.
The Bird-dropping Spiders are found throughout much of eastern
and southern Australia and have even been recorded from Uluru in
central Australia. They are moderately common in suburban
gardens but often overlooked. The abdomen of the Bird-dropping Spider (Celaenia species)
is broad and triangular in shape, concave along midline, and has a
pair of roughened humps towards the rear. The legs are usually held
folded against body. The body size is about 12 mm (female) and 2.5
mm (male). At night, the spider hangs from the edge of a leaf or
twig on a short silk thread, its forelegs outstretched.
The bite of this spider is not considered to be dangerous.Usually none required. A cold pack can be applied to help
reduce any pain or swelling at the site of the bite.
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Daddy
Longlegs - Pholcus phalangioides
Pholcid spiders are araneomorph spiders which
kill and digest their prey using venom. However there is no
scientific basis for the urban myth that daddy-long-legs are the
most venomous, poisonous or toxic spiders in the world.
Daddy-long-legs spiders have venom glands and fangs but their tiny
fangs are fused at the base and while commonly
thought not to bite humans, have been reported as doing so. Their venom has
not been studied in detail. |
Jewel Spiders - Gasteracantha Minax
They are also known as spiny orb weavers and
are part of the orb weaving spider family. This spider's body is
very broad and grows to the size of a 20c piece, with its 8 legs
being the length of a pin (fairly short for a spider). Its abdomen
is strikingly coloured with bright
yellow and white and black. Six stout spines (long and sharp) come
from the border of the abdomen. |
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Hunting Spiders |
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Huntsman Spider
Huntsman spiders are those long-legged spiders we
often surprise crawling around our ceilings at night. They are part
of the "modern" spider species which breathe through trachea as well
as through "book-lungs". They also have chelicerae which close
side to side. The legs of a huntsman spider fan out sideways and the
joints bend forwards. This means these spiders can run sideways as
well as forwards - useful under bark and among stones. |
Flower Spider - Thomisus spectabilis.
Another name for the Flower Spider is the Crab Spider
because it has white or yellow stout legs which are held like a
crab. The full size of the Flower Spider is between four and ten
millimetres. Flower Spiders are often white or yellow in colour,
some have green, brown or rosy tints on the abdomen. The females are
small and their legs are less than 7mm long. The males are even
smaller, but their legs are longer. They
normally have two large front eyes and have
very well developed eyesight. |
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Jumping Spider - Opisthoncus
The Jumping Spider is a diurnal animal with
excellent eyesight, that pursues its prey and leaps upon it. It has
an all-round view of its surroundings because of its large, central,
front eyes. It is about the size of a 20c piece when fully grown,
with pin size legs. There are many different species but all jump
and turn their heads separately from their bodies to look at
objects. They live in houses and gardens and are most common in
Summer, Australia wide. It is a roving spider but hangs from web
lines at night. It rarely bites people and causes only mild local
pain. |
Trapdoor Spider
Trapdoor spiders can be distinguished from
the more dangerous Funnel web spider by its brown or mottled
markings. When in danger, a Trapdoor spider will freeze or flee
whereas a Funnel web will rear back aggressively. A Trapdoor spider
has smaller spinnerets than a funnel web. Trapdoor spiders are not
particularly harmful to man however, like Tarantulas, the tiny hairs
on the legs of some species leave tiny red marks where the "toothed"
hairs on the spiders' feet have clung to the skin. |
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DANGEROUS - MAY BITE AND COULD BE LIFE THREATENING |
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The spiders listed below have been known to cause
death or give bites that are classed as dangerous or life threatening. However,
there are now antivenins available for both the Redback and Funnel
Web spider, which are the only 2 spiders in Australia to have caused
deaths. |
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Web Spinning Spiders
- Dangerous |
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Redback Spider - Lactrodectus hasselti
The Red-back is found in all parts
of Australia except in the hottest deserts and on the coldest
mountains. It is the only dangerous spider with an Australia-wide
distribution. Red-backs are very common in Summer. The female
Red-back has a spherical satin-black abdomen with an orange-red
stripe. The abdomen is usually about 1 cm in diameter. Its bite can
cause serious illness and deaths used to occur before an antivenom
became available in 1956. |
Brown Widow - Lactrodectus geometricus
The Brown Widow is of the same group as the Red-back
and the Black Widow but its toxin is about one-tenth the strength of
the Red-back toxin and does not cause the same severe reaction. It
can be a garden pest of plague proportions. |
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Hunting Spiders - Dangerous |
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Funnel Web Spider -
Atrax & Hadronyche
The Sydney Funnel-web Spider is believed to be
limited to an area of about 160 kilometres from the centre of
Sydney. Other species of Funnel-Web Spider are found in Eastern
Australia, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. They are probably
the most venomous aggressive spider in the world, all funnel web
species should be treated as dangerous, not just the Sydney or Northern
tree dweller. However, species proven dangerous to humans are largely limited to
eastern parts of NSW and SE Queensland. The only proven killer,
Atrax robustus,
is restricted to the Sydney region and adjacent areas to the north
and south of the city, including Gosford. If they bite you it is usually a pretty deep injection but even a
small grazing bite means get to hospital immediately. |
White
Tailed Spider - Lampona
cylindrata
The white tailed spider is about the size of a 50c
piece when fully grown, with a leg diameter about the size of a pin.
It has a grey cigar-shaped abdomen with a white spot on the end and
sometimes the legs
are banded with light traverse marks on the abdomen. These markings
are more predominant on the juvenile White Tailed spider. It is
typically found in cool, dark areas - under bark, in gardens,
litter, walls and beds. It is active at night time. Although it has
been suggested as a culprit in rare cases of large scale necrotic
lesions,
there is little supporting evidence. |
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Eastern Mouse Spider
- Missulena Occatoria
The Mouse Spider is a member of the Trapdoor family.
There are two types of Mouse Spider - the Red Headed Mouse Spider
and the Eastern Mouse Spider. At full size, the Mouse Spider
are about the size of a 50c piece or 1 to 3 centimetres. They have
short stocky legs with tiny eyes spread across the head. They
have been known to cause severe illness, especially to young
children - similar to Red-Back Spider. Although normally not
aggressive, the male mouse spider will bite if provoked, and should
be considered dangerous to humans. It has large hard fangs which can
cause a deep painful bite. |
Red Headed
Mouse Spider
- Missulena Occatoria
This is the Red Headed Mouse Spider. At full size, the Mouse Spider
are about the size of a 50c piece or 1 to 3 centimetres. They have
short stocky legs with tiny eyes spread across the head. They
have been known to cause severe illness, especially to young
children - similar to Red-Back Spider. Although normally not
aggressive, the male mouse spider will bite if provoked, and should
be considered dangerous to humans. It has large hard fangs which can
cause a deep painful bite. |
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Black House Spider
Adults are about 15 mm in body length and of a dark
brown to black velvet textured appearance. The carapace and legs are
dark brown to black, and the abdomen is charcoal grey with a dorsal
pattern of white markings.
It spins a lacy, messy
web and prefers dry habitats in
secluded locations. It is commonly found in window framing, under
eaves, gutters, in brickwork, sheds, toilets and among rocks and
bark. Electric lights attract their prey - moths, flies,
mosquitoes and other insects. Its bite is poisonous but not
lethal. Certain people bitten experience severe pain around the bite
site, heavy sweating, muscular pains, vomiting, headaches and
giddiness. First aid and medical attention (ambulance) should be
sought as soon as possible. |
Wolf
Spiders - Lyosidae, Genus Lycosa
The Wolf Spider got its name because it stalks
its prey like a wild dog. It is an open range hunting spider. The
female grows to 35mm and the male to 20mm. They are a small to
medium size spider. They can be grey or brown with marking on their
back which can be black, orange, grey or brown. The Wolf Spider has
three rows of eyes, two at the back, two in the centre and four in
the front. The Wolf Spider is not an aggressive spider. If the
spider is handled, it can cause a painful bite which may cause
infection and skin lesions to some people. Females carry their
babies on their backs. Click
here for a large photo. |
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Apply online for this FREE Spider
Chart with FIRST AID spider bite procedures - a Ready Reference
Guide in full colour of dangerous and other spiders that commonly
occur throughout Australia - features the Sydney funnel web, redback
spider, mouse spider, wolf spider, huntsman and many other spiders
with notes to aid in identification. |
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Brown House Spider photo copyright Ed
Nieuwenhuys. |
