A very nasty Redback spider find in the backyard. A large breeding mature Female redback spider has set up a new spider nest. It’s a great example of how adaptive these spiders are to garden environments. Only a few weeks earlier I had used by spider control methods to flush out these spiders, but this spider has appeared from nowhere. Very similar to the Mrs Cow Redback spider. Redback spiders make funnel shaped nests that allow the spiders to recluse out of sight during the day. This spider nest is a great example of how they look, and how they can be built onto completely smooth surfaces. Luckily I noticed this new nest while searching for bugs for my pet Redback spiders I have in a spider tank. The spider tank now has many Redback spider egg sacs and one has hatched. Anyway at least the ants received a stunning dinner for the ant nest.
The Redback spider (Latrodectus hasseltii) is a species of venomous spider indigenous to 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. 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. The sperm is then 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 New Zealand, Japan, and in greenhouses in Belgium.
The redback is one of the few spider species that can be seriously harmful to humans, and its preferred habitat has led it to being responsible for the large majority of serious spider bites in Australia.
Video posted as educational, documentary, and scientific and forms part of my Redback Spider study series of videos.
Leokimvideo is the home of the ‘Big Spider Attacks’ videos on youtube! You must have written permission from me to use any part of this video, that’s the rules.
Web Links :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectus
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