Latrodectus hasseltii
| Redback spider | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Adult female | |
 |
|
| Adult male (considerably smaller than female) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Theridiidae |
| Genus: | Latrodectus |
| Species: | L. hasseltii |
| Binomial name | |
|
Latrodectus hasseltii Thorell, 1870 |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
|
The redback spider (Latrodectus hasseltii) is a species of highly venomous spider believed to originate in the South Australian or adjacent Western Australian deserts, but now found throughout Australia, Southeast Asia and New Zealand, with colonies elsewhere outside Australia. It is a member of the cosmopolitan genus Latrodectus, the widow spiders. The adult female is easily recognised by her spherical black body with a prominent red stripe on the upper side of her abdomen and an hourglass-shaped red/orange streak on the underside. Females have a body length of about 10 millimetres (0.4 in), while the male is much smaller, being only 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long.
Mainly nocturnal, the female redback lives in an untidy web in a warm sheltered location, commonly near or inside human residences. It preys on insects, spiders and small vertebrates that become ensnared in its web. It kills its prey by injecting a complex venom through its two fangs when it bites, before wrapping them in silk and sucking out the liquefied insides. Often, It first squirts its victim with what resembles ‘superglue’ from its spinnerets, immobilising the prey by sticking the victim’s limbs and appendages to its own body. The Redback Spider then trusses the victim with silk. Once its prey is restrained, it is bitten repeatedly on the head, body and leg segments and is then hauled back to the Redback Spider’s retreat. Sometimes a potentially dangerous victim can be left to struggle for hours until it is exhausted enough to approach safely. Male spiders and spiderlings often live on the periphery of the female spiders' web and steal leftovers. Other species of spider and parasitoid wasps prey on this species. The redback is one of few arachnids which usually display sexual cannibalism while mating.
After mating sperm is stored in the spermathecae, organs of the female reproductive tract, and can be used up to two years later to fertilise several clutches of eggs. Each clutch averages 250 eggs and is housed in a round white silken egg sac. The redback spider has a widespread distribution in Australia, and inadvertent introductions have led to established colonies in including New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Japan and in greenhouses in Belgium.
...
Wikipedia