A warning stripe
The red stripe on her back, and a red hourglass underneath, warn that she is venomous.
The backyard · Spiders and scorpions
Redback spider
Latrodectus hasselti
The female is a shiny black spider with a round body like a pea and a red stripe down her back.
- Size
- Female body about 1cm, male 3 to 4mm
- Look for it
- All year round
- Where
- Dry, sheltered corners: sheds, fences, pot plants, letterboxes and garden furniture
Creeps after you on thin black legs. Move your pointer and see.
When to look
Redback
Good to know
Six things about the redback
Only the females bite
The male is tiny, pale brown and harmless. Only the female is big enough to bite a person.
A messy web with tripwires
She spins a tangled web with sticky threads stretched down to the ground. An insect that touches one is hoisted up.
Big game
Her web can catch animals far larger than she is, including small lizards.
She stays at home
A redback hardly ever leaves her web. Nearly all bites happen when someone puts a hand on her by accident.
A black widow's cousin
She belongs to the same family as the black widow spiders of America.
The real thing
Photos of the redback
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
How to spot one
Look, without touching, under the rim of a pot, beneath outdoor furniture or in the corner of a shed. The untidy web and round cream egg sacs give her away.
How to help
Leave her alone and she will leave you alone. Wear gloves for gardening and look before you reach under things.
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