Redback+Spider-+Eddie

**By: Eddie Altawil**
 * The Red back spider **

** Introduction **
 * Red back spiders are mostly found in parts of Australia and Southeast Asia. They are dangerous. Red back spiders are well known for their deadly poison and lightning speed. Their poison can kill people.**
 * Red back spiders are member of the spider genus //Latrodectus//, in the family Theridiidae.**
 * They are related to the black widow spider //Latrodectus mactans//**
 * The common name of “red back” is derived from its distinctive red stripe along its abdomen.**



** Anatomy ** the body is a deep black colour with a red to orange**longitudinal stripe on the upper abdomen.** ** Habitat ** Red back spiders live in most parts of Australia. The female red back builds a sticky, tangled web in dry, sheltered places. She hides in a funnel-shaped part at the top of the web. Inside logs, under rubble and rubbish, among rocks and in sheds are places where red back spiders can be found. Male red backs do not build webs.
 * The female red back has**
 * a round body about the size of a large pea (1cm long), with long thin legs.**
 * On the underside of the abdomen there is an ‘hour-glass’ shaped red/orange spot.**
 * The Male red back is**
 * 3 to 4 mm long.It is**
 * light brown in colour with white markings on upper side of abdomen**
 * on the underside it has a pale ‘hour-glass’ marking**

** Feeding and Predators **
 * Red back spiders usually prey on insects (ants and flies) but they can capture larger animals that get stuck in the web. For example, crickets, trap-door spiders and small lizards.**

** Food chain **

** Reproduction ** The male red back spider hangs around near a female's web. He gets the female's attention by showing her his abdomen. This can be dangerous because if she mistakes him for prey she will squirt digestive juices onto him and try to eat him. Many males are eaten as they mate! Once the female has mated, she can lay several batches of eggs. She produces about 10 white egg sacs, one every 3 weeks or so. Each sac contains approximately 250 eggs. These sacs hang in the web. When they hatch, the tiny, pale-green spiderlings balloon away on silk threads to another place, suitable for a nest.

Male spiders can mature in 37 to 167 days (average 90 days) Female spiders can mature in 60-325 day (average 120 days) Female Red backs can live for about two to three years. Males can live for about six or seven months.
 * Lifecycle **



** Did you Know? ** Red back spiders can live for an average of 90 days without food, and sometimes over 300 days. Red back spiders can survive temperatures below freezing point, up to -40 degrees.