The effect of their venom on humans is typically slow but if you are bitten always seek treatment from a medical professional.Īmbrose, J., 2015. Wildlife Of The World. While the venom of a redback can cause death none have been recorded since the invention of antivenom in 1956. This is in addition to many bites which do not require treatment due to the severity of the bite. Up to 250 people require treatment each year for redback spider bites in Australia. Their main defense is their highly potent venom which is a latrotoxin and acts on the nervous system of their prey. Humans often kill the redback spider when they find them around their homes due to the danger presented by them. They are eaten by the daddy long legs and white tailed spiders. This area consists of a range of vertical trip lines coated with liquid silk which glues prey to the web. It also creates the structural support for the lower part of the web which traps their prey. The top part is where the spider lives and creates their egg sac. Males take three months to mature with females maturing slightly later at 4 months old. Once they are finished eating they will throw a silk line which catches on the wind and carries them to a site where they can create a web. After hatching they are cannibalistic and eat any unhatched eggs or their siblings which are yet to leave the nest. These are coloured white when laid but weather to brown as time goes on.Įach egg sac is deposited on the web and these can contain as many as 250 eggs. In this time she can produce as many as 10 egg sacs. Once a male has mated with the female she may store that sperm and use it to produce eggs for up to 2 years. This is why males often do not survive mating.įollowing a successful mating the male may break off part of his body to plug the females sperm storage organ and prevent other males from mating with her. In an attempt to distract the female while he mates with her he will stand on his head and allow her to begin to eat his abdomen while he mates with her. Males approach the female and attempt to insert a pedipalp (a small appendage that looks like a miniature leg on either side of the mouth) in to her sperm storage organ. These males may fight one another for mating rights and often this is fatal for one of the contenders. Once it is fully bound in silk they will bite it and inject their venom before they take the prey item to the top of their web to be eaten.īreeding may take place year round though peaks during summer.įemales mate with multiple males though males often typically only mate once in their life as a result of the females tendency to eat males at the conclusion of mating.ĭuring the mating season a number of males may congregate on the web of a single female. Once food is stuck in the web they will turn their back to it and cover it with lines of sticky silk. Males live on the edge of a females web for most of their life and will typically take food scraps she leaves behind. They also scavenge food out of the webs of other spiders. Their web is so strong that they may also capture small snakes, mice and lizards in it. They feed mainly on insects which are captured in the females web. ![]() On their underside the hourglass marking is pale. They are light brown or black with white stripes on their body and small red markings. Males are much smaller than females at 4mm (0.16in) and typically live on her web. They also have a red hourglass shaped marking on their underside. ![]() This is coloured black or dark brown across most of their body with a large red or orange stripe running across their abdomen. They have a large body of up to 10mm (0.4in) in length. Both have eight legs with the front pair being longer than the other three pairs.įemales are the most commonly seen of these spiders. Females and males have markedly different appearances. ![]() The redback is most recognizable due to the large red stripe running down the back of the females abdomen.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |