Spiders in Western Australia

Spiders found in Western Australia

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"Do Not Enter"

The majority of Australian spiders are new to science. Most of the spider species in the rest of the world have already been described.

Australia leads the world in the number of venomous spiders as well as the toxicity. However, of almost 10 000 species of spiders in 70 families throughout the country, most are harmless to humans and interesting to study.

Redback

All spiders in Australia are venomous but only two have caused deaths, the Funnel Web and Redback.

The Redback is the most well known Australian spider and found in all areas except the highest mountains and deep in the ocean.

She can store sperm up to two years then lay 10 egg sacs, each containing about 250 eggs, and can repeat this a week later.

"Do Not Touch"

Closely related to the Black Widow and identical except for the red dorsal stripe.

The Redback "venom is highly neurotoxic, which is to say that it attacks the central nervous system causing intense pain, profuse sweating, difficulty in breathing, loss of consciousness, violent convulsions and, finally...Death."

Prior to the introduction of specific antivenom in 1956, Redbacks had been responsible for thirteen deaths in Australia. None since!

More redback pics | |

Web Drops

All spiders are predators with eight legs, eight eyes, fangs and venom but the the most prominent feature is the ability to produce silk.

Silk is used as a safety-line, to catch prey, wrap up prey and to make egg sacs.

It is also used for transport, shelter and courtship.

Golden Orb

The Golden Orb spider gets her name from the beautiful golden, orb-shaped web that she makes. This web is the largest and strongest in the world.

The tiny males live on the edge of her web feeding on small insects. They are so small that they can sneak in for a quickie without the female noticing. But if they are caught they may get eaten.

Huntsman

Huntsman spiders are those big, hairy, scary, long-legged spiders we often find behind curtains, in the shower cubicle and under the car's sun visor.

These timid creatures are harmless and will run from humans at lightning fast speeds.

The design of the legs allows the Huntsman to run sideways as well as forward.

Daddy Long Legs

Daddy Long-legs hunt, kill and eat Redback Spiders, House Spiders, Wolf Spiders and more. An ideal pet to keep in the house.

When hunting other spiders it will tap the victims web to attract it, quickly envelope it with silk and then inflict the fatal bite.

When threatened by a touch to the web the Daddy Long-legs become invisible by vibrating rapidly and becoming blurred. Their main predator is the vacuum cleaner.

Black House

Black House Spiders (or Window Spiders) are timid and rarely bite.

Named for its habit of building untidy looking webs at the corners of windows and doors.

The bite of the Black House Spider is toxic but not fatal. Symptoms include pain around the bite site, sweating, headaches and giddiness.

Crab

Flower Spiders (or Crab Spiders) are colourful and camouflage well in flower petals. This serves a dual purpose of hiding from potential predators and concealing from possible prey.

They feed on nectar feeding insects including bees.

Huntsman

I think most aussies have a scary Huntsman story.

The Battle

This spider has been immobilized by the sting of a wasp and will become living food for the larvae.

Web Site

Garden Orb Weaving Spiders are common in gardens during summer. They build their webs in the evening and before daylight will sometimes eat the web, then hide all day.

They are non-aggressive and low risk to humans but walking into a web at night can cause panic, especially if the spider is on your face.

Harry

All the indoor pics were taken inside my house. I removed the Redback, the Daddy Long Leg ate the Black House spider and Harry the Huntsman is still here.

Jewel

Jewel Spiders (Christmas or Spiny spider) are orb weavers.

These tiny spiders are usually found on a web strung between two bushes.

They look like a creature you don't wanna touch.

Banded Garden Spider - Argiope trifasciata

Bandy

Banded Garden Spider or Banded Argiope

Generally seen arse-up in the centre of an orb web, with legs together in pairs. Trifasciatas are found throughout Australia around autumn. Often mistaken for the St Andrews Cross spider which is only found in the east.

These awesome creatures are totally harmless.

Argiope trifasciata

Sand Spider

Tiny sand spiders hiding in the dunes at Cape Range NP, Exmouth.

Wait until dark, grab a torch, enter the sand dunes and hold the torch about eye-level. The bright pinpricks of light in the sand are reflections from the spiders eyes. I saw up to 10 from one location.

When alarmed the spider will quickly disappear into the sand.

Comments

fred

i like you guys pics there creepy but cool
carmen

i recognized the "jewel" spider as soon as i saw it. we have those in miami, fl, US. i used to grab them from outside my grandma's house as a kid. they're very small but spiky and cool looking.
Bob 123

You should tell what town they are in
Ray

G'day Bob,

These spiders are found everywhere!
Spiderman

Where is the picture of me?
Zara

Are any of them edible??
Bender

You Must not forget the Aussie Tarantula spiders, these are the biggest and are becoming more frequent throughout Australia with new species being discoverd all the time, the latest being the australian Goliath which reaches a body span of over 23cm or 9 to 10 inches which matches pretty much south americas amazon species called by the same name [goliath] this was dicovered by Steve Nunn in 2008-9 along with the swamp ghost tarantula, these are known to be able to bring down snakes and lizards frogs and even birds, one was seen dragging a dead bird of the side of the road at tamborine mountain on the hinterland goldcoast, qld but have also been spotted all over Australia in various bushland pockets.
FRANCES

HI, I DONT LIKE THE SOUND OF THE RED BACK SPIDERS EFFECTS. I WOULD IMAGINE THE PAIN FROM ONE OF THEIR BITES WOULD BE HORRIFIC. I WONDER HOW LONG IT TAKES TO KILL A PERSON?
alex

very nice pix
BOB

THEY ARE ALL DISGUSTING THEY MAKE ME CRINGE !!
i hate spiders

one was on me today and its not on me
it was brown with yellow spots on it
BillyBob

I had a scary huntsman story! I was just sitting there watching TV then in the corner of my eye is see this HUGE gray thing! I was like WTF!!! and then it ran towards me. God that was some scary shit, anyways I just stamped on it xD
ash

i love spiders. once i was sitting and watching tv this red back spider creped out from no where and came on my face i was like shit get this fuckin thing off me and i stomped it at the end and it died.bohoo
kat

The Black house is soooo grose!
tay

ewww.lol
larry woods

I live with these sorts of spiders they are all so kool but soo SPOOKY when your asleep.once i woke up with a red back spider on my face i yelled and my girlfriend slipped it off my face she isnt even scared of pioson spiders. I really need to find a new house. ONE WITHOUT SPIDERS!!! and she stopped on it after woods. NOW I DONT LIKE SPIDERS today one was on my leg.its a spiders palace in here.
nina

we got crab spiders in our trash can and we also like the picture of the orb spider.I also want to know where did you get those cool pics from.also creepy but cool!!!!(:(:
Shae

Hi Frances, just to let you know, this year i was sitting on a chair watching TV when i felt this painful sting on my bum, i thought i had been bitten by a soldier ant it was so painful!! Then the pain spread to my groin muscle and i started telling my friends "Shit! I think i hve been bitten by a Redback!" They were all teasing me telling me i was a hypocondriac (cant spell well) but then i felt the sight and it was all sweaty and really painful and i said "I swear its a Redback!" so we shook out the doona i had over me and sure enough, out fell a little Redback, which i stomped on quick smart. We rang the hospital but they said unless i started vomiting or having respiratory issues just to take pain killers and put ice on the bite. Well i survived, but it was excrutiatingly painful and i felt a little nauseous for a while and had a sweaty bite site!! Otherwise i was just fine!
JJ

Man these spiders are the bomb! There also creepy! imangine spider man in it LOL!
Alex

LOL i have to do a report on spiders so i have to print something out, i like these spiders i wanna scare my teacher lol!
Monique W

holy poos that harry spider is soo gross
when i was little i was watching tv when this huge spider came onto my face and i screamed my head off
jayme

did you know that the red back cant kill a heathy human being
but can put the very young and aged into hospital :)
Steve

Do huntsman have white legs and an orange belly with a black stripe
LYNDA JONES

HI IM IN DARKAN WA and have found a black spider with red/black legs and two big curled fangs with 5 orange/yellow spots on back/bum. do u have any idea what it is. thanks
Royce

I found a whole colony of jewel spiders on an island in port phillip bay melb. Awsome looking things....
Royce

When i bought my home, i ripped the for sale sign off the barky gum tree out the front and found a sydney funnel web rearing up at me with juice on the end of its fangs, it was pissed off, tring to bite my golf club and every time it struck it left venom on the club. All very nice but the thing is i live in geelong victoria. Is it common to get funnel webs in victoria??
Michelle

I was laying down watching a movie the 5 January 2010. And this spider came outta nowhere. Now, i sat up to have a look at and it took off like lightning. Now the colors of this spider were, grey and black, like they greyest of greys and on it's back and halfway down its 8 legs it was black. It did come back out l8tr, but did not get a chance to kill it, i h8t spiders, they make my skin crawl.... I was wondering if any1 new wot kinda spider this was/is?

Cheers.
g

what about jumping spiders
louie

We had a garden orb in the garden (funny that! lol) thanx for helping us figure out what & who she was. Cheers
Ez

You should see the spiders at my mums house, red backs cross daddy long legs. They look like a black daddy long legs with a slightly larger body but still slim, also they have 3 to 4 red arrows pointing towards the head in a similar style to this >>>

I'd love to take a picture of one and mail it to you but I haven't had the chance to go there for a long time, kind of unbelievable I know but true. 13 years of red backs and daddy long legs over running 4 sheds, a caravan, and tons of tires I believe is responsible.
d

We have a lovely big black Window spider,now identified thanks to you, living in our laundry. We call him/her Bob or Bobette. We have watched her/him grow from about 5mm in length to 20mm plus. Apart from his/her very scrappy web he/she is very welcome.thanks
Lexi

My aussie scary huntsman story is when I was about 24 I walked through a spider web at night and felt a heavy thud on the top of my head. I realised a big spider had landed there and hesitatantly raised my hand to my head before summoning the courage to flick it off in one fell swoop, all the while cringing and mumbling eeewwwww.

The other night I spread the blankets I had stored on the top of my wardrobe over the summer back over my bed as it had gotten a little cooler. Throughout the night I was tormented by itching insect bites on my arms and feet. Thinking it was a mozzie, I thought nothing of it. the next morning I had had large red inflammed welts all overme. When i went to sleep the following night, I noticed this black bodied spider next to me. I grabbed the empty drink bottle next too me and got it in there. The next day iI put it outside. It most resembles the pictures of the Black House spider. I don''t know if he was the culprit for the bites, but it should be happy now.
Ethan

I came across a Golden Orb spider now that was scary!!!!!!!!
mellymoo

we just found a black house spider in our loungesuite that is about the size of a golf ball!!! its now in a jar and pissed off so bad!
Cherry

Huntsman Spiders are my favourite. I used to be terrified of spiders as a kid, but then my dad found a young one and said it looked hungry, so I caught it in my brother's bug catcher and gave it a few flies. It tried to gobble up three flies all at once, and after that I was no longer afraid of spiders. I decided to keep "Inci" as a pet, and after a few months of feeding him daily, he shed his skin. It was an awesome sight watching it happen. Anyway, he moulted every few months, and grew to as big as my dad's hand. Inci grew so tame that he would know when I was picking his cage up to feed him, (he'd get all excited), or when I was just picking it up to handle him. I let him run up and down my arm under my jumper sleeve and out at my neck like a pet mouse would. To make a long story short, I found so many interesting things about huntsman spiders (I decided to breed them and have studied them for about 7 years). Their venom is pink; the males are hairier and have more red-fuzz around their fangs than females; if they lose legs, they grow back at the next moult; and their blood is a clear turquoise colour. The females lay an egg-sack that's about the size of a ten cent piece, and have about 100+ spiderlings in each one. When the babies hatch in the egg-sack, the mother will chew a hole in it to let them out, and she counts them as they come out by having a foot over the hole. I've heard a lot of people think that they can jump, but they don't. If they're afraid they'll run, then suddenly drop off the wall they're on. Generally if you don't bother them, they won't bother you. ;-)
hayden

incredible little things
trev

Amazing information Cherry
Harry the spider

This is a great site but I can't help thinking there is just a hint of BS in there too. Guys come on. Huntsman charging you whilst watching TV and Redbacks on your face. Aussie turantula spiders - thats just the best load-a-bollox i've read on the tinterweb this week. Top prize goes to Bender boy for BS of the week.
:o)
Hogan

Awsome i like bacon
natsha

hey i love the pics! lol
lunie

this is so awsome so keep it up and those pix rocks cuz i am a person that will let thim crawl on top of me thats awsome. Thats wat sup. holla at ur girl.
Springbokbaby

I thought I recognized the Redback Spider. In South Africa its known as the Button Spider or Knoopie spinnekop.
klee

awesome pics....love them!

huntsman story. was having a candlelight bath once, turned my head to get shampoo and a palm sized huntsman was sitting 4 inches away from my head...he ran right down and across the floor and under the sink cupboard....he is still around somewhere i think... couldn't bring myself to kill him, since he didn't hurt me...

we also allow daddy long legs to live in the house.... as previously said they do keep away other spiders and are very useful.

we have a few orb weavers in the backyard too.... amazing webs...

love the info cherry, thats so cool to know lol!
adelie

OMG I HATE SPIDERS SO MUCH!!!!!!! i mean i think i have arachnaphobia! we have this HUGE spider in our yard in perth, WA and i think its a golden orb but its getting bigger everyday and absolutely freaking me out! and then they live for like, 2 years! can i please gas it!? i mean, whats a spider-hating girl to do???