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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. Eight long delicate legs arise from the tiny front segment of the body.
The male
is only about one-third the size of the female and is considered harmless to humans
because his fangs are so small. The male's markings are not as bright as the female. It is usually easy to identify a female Red-back although her stripe
may be orange, pink or even light grey. |
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9 November, 2009:
Hello Glen. I took a few pics and include them here. Feel free to use them on
your site if you wish. I would be interested in your opinion in the matter.
Regards
Alex
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7 January, 2009:
Hi... I was thinking this was a redback spider with some colour
variation...but after searching the net it looks more like a brown
widow except that it does have the red. (the red is also on the
ventral side and on the front of the abdomen.) The colour here has not
been altered... What do you think? Young female redback? I found her
in my house, northern suburbs of Perth. thanks, kelle
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5 June, 2008:
Hi Glen,
I was going through all my pics the other night and came across some other spider photos that had taken.
Free to use on your site.
Cheers
BJ |
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6 March 2007:
What is this? |
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6 August, 2006:
Hi Glen, Some
photos attached - am pretty sure this is the dreaded redback! Found in garage in
suburban Melbourne. Cheers,
Raj
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13 January, 2006:
Hi again Glen, I've found another interesting spider in my house. This
time one that looks suspiciously like a Redback, though I'm not entirely
sure because of the size of the abdomen. In any case, I'm eager to see
what you think. As with the huntsman last time, feel free to use this image on
your website. Thanks very much for your time and help!
Dimitrije |
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Reply: Certainly looks like a
redback to me!!
24
October, 2005:
Hi There, I came across this little fellow inside an
overturned kids sand pit in our back yard today and thought that it may be a
relative of the red back family. Anyhow my kids would like to find out for sure
and I would just like to know if you have ever come across one marked like this
or if it is actually a red back.
Location: Kurri Kurri N.S.W
Thanks, Adrian, Bianca & Gabrielle
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10 March,
2001:
Today's photos are of a red back that has made its home in our pool
fence. Some large green caterpillars were busily munching on the leafy
green shoots of one of my pot plants, so I took them off and put them in
the garden bag next to the fence. Worst move that caterpillar ever made
was to escape from the bag, straight into the red back's messy web. You
can see by the size of the caterpillar compared to the red back, what a
feat it was for the spider to wrap it and lift it off the ground several
centimetres. These shots were taken with a Panasonic Digital Video
camera in still mode. Click on the photo for a larger view.
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The red
back is under the caterpillar in this shot. You can just see its
legs. |
Here she is
on the tail end of the caterpillar on her way around the body. |
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The small
dots are red back babies. Here the red stripe is clearly visible. |
The red
back disappears up the open end of the post in the pool fence. Must
have been camera shy!! |
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