Spiders Fact Sheet

Spider

Structural Characteristics

Body size

Female Male

Colour

Life Cycle

Habits

Toxicity

Sydney Funnelweb

(altrax robustus)

Shiney Cephalothorax. Spinnerets long; terminal segment longest. Male palps small ; spur on 2^nd pair of legs.

30 mm 25 mm

Black, fine reddish hairs.

3-5 years

Large White egg sac.

Favours moist dark situations. Long silken tube through litter in or on ground. Active during late summer and Autumn. Aggressive.

Very toxic. Male more toxic than female.

St Andrews cross

(Argiope keyserlingii)

Long legs, small cephalothorax. Male small and paler than female

10-15 5-6mm

Brown cephalothorax. Abdomen striped yellow and brown.

1 generation per year

Orb- web; hangs in web with legs in shape of a cross. Not aggressive.

Non-toxic

Daddy long legs

(phocus)

Known by their very long legs.

7 – 9 mm

Brown

Loose spinning web spiders. Found in houses, cupboards and subfloors.

Non-toxic

Redback

(Lacrodectus hasselti)

Long legs and large bulbous abdomen. Small cephalothorax. Male – much smaller and insignificant.

12 -15 3 -4 mm

Black, velvety, red stripe on dorsal. This may be missing on some pale area on ventral surface.

1 generation per year

Makes a loose web in rubbish, unsewered toilets under houses. Not agressive

Very toxic, female bites; males don’t. Very painful.

Whitetail Spider

(Lampona Cylindrata)

Cigar-shaped body Cephalothorax oval.

12 -15 5-8

Grey to black.White mark on end of abdomen.

1 generation per year

Found under bark of trees, often inside in bathrooms. Not aggressive.

Bite cause local pain and blistering also tissue necrosis.

Hubtsman

(Isopeda immanis)

First 2 pairs of legs are longer than the rear two. Flattened and hairy. Male slightly smaller with enlarged palps.

35-40 15-25

Buff,dark patches on cephalothorax and abdomen

1 generation per year

Lives under bark during daytime and emerges at night, often enters the house. Useful as it feeds on insects.Not aggressive.

Non-toxic. Bites may be very painful but rare.