- St Andrew's Cross Spiders :
Introduction: The St Andrew's Cross Spider's Latin name is Argiope kiyserlingi. The female's size is about 20mm long and its cephalothorax is flattened and covered in white or silver hairs. It also has a banded and spotted abdomen in a white, yellow, red and black pattern The male is about 4 mm long and has a brown body (pic below).
Habitat: In Australia, the St Andrew's Cross Spider lives in the eastern part and New Guinea; and is also found in other countries. The adult female makes an orb web with an X shape (St Andrew's Cross) in the middle.
She then hangs her head down with her legs together in pairs over the cross. These spiders are active both day and night and build their webs in and near small shrubs and against walls.
Other Spiders Species :
- Common Australian Spiders :
NOT DANGEROUS - i.e MAY BITE BUT NOT LIFE THREATENING
All spiders can and will bite if in danger or accidentally touched e.g. in shoes or clothing etc. Any spider bite can cause a reaction, ranging from a bee or wasp sting type bite to those requiring hospitalisation. Also always be aware as spiders maybe hiding in places you may not notice such as around the base on pot plants or in the corner of your shed. Different people react in different ways so it is best to be cautious around all spiders and look but do not handle any spider no matter how it is classified.
Web Spinning Spiders
Prey: The St Andrew's Cross spiders feed on flying insects that get caught in their X shaped web.
Breeding: The female spider's eggs are laid in a silk sac usually hung among leaves near to the web. The young spiders are light brown and at first they make webs with a lacy disc in the middle. As they get older, they add a cross to the disc and when they are adults, they only make the cross.
Venom: The St Andrew's Cross Spider doesn't have dangerous venom. Its bite causes a mild local pain. If disturbed, the St Andrew's Cross Spider shakes her web vigorously or may drop to the ground.
- Garden Orb Weaver - Araneus diadematus
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The family is a large one, including over 2800 species in over 160 genera. New species are still being discovered. Orb weavers (Araneidae) are often brightly coloured with rounded abdomens, some with peculiarly angled humps or spines. However, there is considerable variation in size, colour and shape in this group. They are often recognized for building beautiful, large, round webs, on which they rest, head downward, waiting for prey. The webs consist of a number of radiating threads crossed by two spirals. The inner spiral begins in the centre, winds outward, and is made of smooth threads like the radiating threads. It covers only the central 1/3 of the web. The outer spiral begins at the edges and winds inward. It is made of more elastic, sticky threads, coated with a liquid substance.
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Generally, orb-weaving spiders are three-clawed builders of flat webs with sticky spiral capture silk. The web has always been thought of as an engineering marvel. It is build by the spider starting with a line floated on the wind to another surface. The spider secures the line and than drops another line from the center, making a "Y". The rest of the scaffolding follows with the radii of non-sticky silk being constructed before the final spiral of sticky capture silk. The third claw is used the walk on the non-sticky part of the web. Characteristically the prey insect that blunders into the sticky lines is stunned by a quick bite and then wrapped in silk. If the prey is a venomous insect, such as a wasp, wrapping may precede biting.
- Golden Orb Weaver - Araneidae, genus Nephila
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This species is especially large and spectacular and is well known from tropical north Queensland, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific. There is a report of this species laying her eggs in soil. Males are much smaller, about 6mm in body length, and will often be somewhere in her web and at other times even clambering on her body. They are called golden orb weavers after their web which has a golden colour and is remarkably strong. It has a characteristic yellow colour as does the fluffy egg sac which tends to be left in the tree the spider was using for support.
Brown House Spider:
These spiders belong to the same family of comb footed spiders as the redback and brown widow. Steatodaspecies have shiny, slender legs, with a small cephalothorax and a larger abdomen, which is somewhat egg-shaped in Steatoda. Mature females grow to about 1.2 cm, while the males are slightly smaller. The colour can range from a brown or reddish plum to satiny black. The abdomen often has white or beige spots, a frontal crescent, and sometimes, small red spots or a thin red line (but never a stripe like a Redback Spider). They build a tangled-looking web with sticky lines (a gum-footed web) under rocks, timber and bark in the bush. Bites fromSteatoda species occur infrequently. The bite of the brown house spider is not lethal, but may cause headaches or nausea. Small blisters may occur around the bite site. It can be treated with Red back antivenom.
Bird Dropping Spider :
Other names for this spider are the Death's Head Spider, as its markings can also resemble the shape of a skull, and the Orchard Spider, because it is often seen on fruit trees where moths, its main source of food, may be abundant. The Bird-dropping Spiders are found throughout much of eastern and southern Australia and have even been recorded from Uluru in central Australia. They are moderately common in suburban gardens but often overlooked. The abdomen of the Bird-dropping Spider (Celaenia species) is broad and triangular in shape, concave along midline, and has a pair of roughened humps towards the rear. The legs are usually held folded against body. The body size is about 12 mm (female) and 2.5 mm (male). At night, the spider hangs from the edge of a leaf or twig on a short silk thread, its forelegs outstretched. The bite of this spider is not considered to be dangerous. Usually no treatment is required. A cold pack can be applied to help reduce any pain or swelling at the site of the bite.
Daddy Longlegs - Pholcus phalangioides
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Pholcid spiders are araneomorph spiders which kill and digest their prey using venom. However there is no scientific basis for the urban myth that daddy-long-legs are the most venomous, poisonous or toxic spiders in the world. Daddy-long-legs spiders have venom glands and fangs but their tiny fangs are fused at the base and while commonly thought not to bite humans, have been reported as doing so. Their venom has not been studied in detail.
The name 'Daddy-Long-Legs' has been used for at least two different kinds of arachnids - spiders (Pholcus phalangioides) andharvestmen (Opoliones).
DADDY-LONG-LEGS
The animal which most biologists call "daddy-long-legs", is a spider, Pholcus phalangioides, which belongs to the spider family Pholcidae, order Araneida, class Arachnida. The CSIRO handbook follows this usage: Naumann, Ian 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Australian Insect Names: common and scientific names for insects and allied organisms of economic and environmental importance. CSIRO.
Pholcid spiders are araneomorph spiders which kill and digest their prey using venom.However there is no scientific basis for the urban myth that daddy-long-legs are the most venomous, poisonous or toxic spiders in the world. Their venom has never been tested and certainly not on humans!!
Daddy-long-legs spiders have venom glands and fangs but their tiny fangs are fused at the base (uncate) however brown recluse spiders fangs are also uncate and they can certainly bite humans! As far as Dr Mike Gray (senior arachnologist at the Australian Museum) knows, there is no evidence in the scientific literature to suggest that the venom of daddy-long-legs could harm humans. There is also not much scientific evidence to suggest whether or not they can bite humans, this seems to be part of the myth as well!!
However daddy-long-legs kill and eat other spiders, including Redback Spiders whose venom CAN be fatal to humans. Perhaps this is the origin of the rumour that daddy-long-legs are the most venomous spiders in the world. It might be argued that if they can kill a deadly spider, they must be even more deadly themselves, but daddy-long-legs only need to be quicker to bite, not more venomous.
However daddy-long-legs kill and eat other spiders, including Redback Spiders whose venom CAN be fatal to humans. Perhaps this is the origin of the rumour that daddy-long-legs are the most venomous spiders in the world. It might be argued that if they can kill a deadly spider, they must be even more deadly themselves, but daddy-long-legs only need to be quicker to bite, not more venomous.
For more info check out these sites:
Here's some photos of a daddy-long-legs and some babies sent in by Dave Hood.
"I’ve been watching the ones on the ceiling of my garage for a few weeks, as they tend their eggs. Here are a few photos that might entertain you.
Thanks again, Dave Hood"
http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/spidermyth/myths/daddyvenom.html
http://spiders.ucr.edu/daddylonglegs.html
(Would like to know if this guy is referring to me!! hope not!!)
Here's some photos sent in by David.
"Hey I've visited your site a lot and used to be very scared of spiders but now its almost like I've got used to them as we get a lot in this house. I find them fascinating and the other day I noticed a daddy long legs was sitting in my wardrobe with some eggs in its mouth. This morning I looked and they had all hatched! Will the mother stay with them for long like that or will they eventually just wander off? They just sit there for ages, I haven't seen them move, well until i gently blew the web! Anyway the main reason I sent the email was to show you this cool photo I took of another daddy long legs from the living room. It seems to have another spider in its jaw and I'm quite pleased with how the photo came out. At the highest res the detail is great! How would it eat that spider? its almost bigger than the daddy long legs, would it last a few days? Oh and another question. I notice the spider has only 7 legs and their was one with just 6 a while ago. Do they grow back?? Thanks for the great website. I love checking the photos and identifying spiders with the help of it. For example I found a crab spider the other day and before i looked on your site i didn't know what the hell it was! I've learnt so much about spiders since visiting your site and its really helped me over come my fear! Sorry for all the questions! Mainly wanted to show you the photo's! Thanks, David"
Jewel Spiders - Gasteracantha Minax
They are also known as spiny orb weavers and
are part of the orb weaving spider family. This spider's body is very broad and grows to the size of a 20c piece, with its 8 legs being the length of a pin (fairly short for a spider). Its abdomen is strikingly coloured with bright
yellow and white and black. Six stout spines (long and sharp) come from the border of the abdomen.
Jewelled Spiders
by Geoffrey and Chantelle
www.spiderzrule.com/jewelspider
"Here's a follow-up from this morning. You'll notice in the photo on the left, that the mother still has a loose white ball of fluff. I had assumed that the babies ate the eggs as part of hatching, and thought the ball of fluff might be remnants of the eggs. In the photo on the right, you'll see what the ball of fluff really is: the remnants of baby spiders that didn't escape from the communal ball soon enough! With cannibalistic siblings, you really wouldn't want to hatch out in the middle of that ball! Red in tooth and claw, she is, nature!
Dave"
Here's an email that seems to confirm that Daddy Long Legs can indeed bite:
Hi there
My son was just bitten by a spider and he described it as a daddy long legs. I've been on the net getting photos up to confirm. Years ago I was bitten by a daddy long legs myself, after my mum said 'Don't worry they can't bite'. I watched it lower its body and then bite me. Bang went my faith in my mother's advice. My son has just confirmed it was also a daddy long legs that bit him. The bribe of a chocolate frog cut through the spurious info. His wrist has come up hot and swollen. The points of bite are fluid-filled blisters and his hand has just started to swell. Fairly evenly coloured red rashes have developed on parts of his lower arm. The swelling was so great that the child-care worker thought his arm was broken. He has seen a doctor. He asked if it was snake bite because the points of bite were similar to snake bite. The spider had been on Joel's hand biting him, getting his attention and while biting a second time was removed by my son (to get the pointy bit out of him). A strange cluster of small pustules has developed to the side of the major bite points. There is also a faint yellowish colouring developing (like a bruise). He has no obvious ill-effects apart from the swelling and pain at the site. No tummy upset, no headache, nothing else and the bite happened just over 24 hours ago. He was advised to take Claratyne (antihistamine). It has provide some relief But Joel's body is still coping with the poison. Just as it's a fallacy that they are THE most poisonous, it is also obviously a fallacy that they do not/cannot bite.
Cheers
Katherine Bradfield
South Australia
It's Day Five. Bitten Friday, it's now Tuesday. He had two doses of 24 hour strength antihistamine The spreading patches of red have gone, his hand and wrist are still slightly puffy. The two bite sites (main pustules) are still just as high as
they are wide. He doesn't complain of pain but does say it's itchy sometimes. Joel is not quite five years old. Still no horrific side-effects but am unsure about what to do
about the pockets of fluid where he was bitten. Taking him back to doctor for advice.
Have seen/read horror stories about progressive spider bites. Very grateful for the internet. Without it I'd not have been able to show my son pictures of spiders to get confirmation of what bit him.
Day Seven: The swelling has completely gone. The bite points are drying (like scabs) But there is a very pale patch (almost white) immediately around the bites with a slight shadow further out extending over an area of maybe three inches, grubby, like he's recovering from a bruise. I can get a dark colouration in the skin (in the later stages) where a bruise is healing, genetically peculiar to me. I observe Joel with interest. He's complaining if it being itchy (nearly a week after). We had a hot day today (33 degrees). I've put Savlon (antiseptic cream) on it and most lately Stop Itch (anti-itch cream for mosquito bites). Heat exacerbates any itch I might have, so I empathise. Another hot day forecasted tomorrow.
HARVESTMEN
The other eight-legged invertebrates which are sometimes called "daddy-long-legs", are members of the order Opiliones or Opilionida in the class Arachnida. Biologists generally call these animals 'harvestmen' (e.g. the CSIRO Handbook (ed. Ian Naumann) cited above).
Unlike spiders, their bodies do not have a 'waist' and they do not produce silk; they normally have only one pair of eyes. They do not have venom glands or fangs,
although they may produce noxious defence secretions. Most harvestmen eat smaller invertebrates but some eat plant material and others feed on carcasses of dead mammals and birds.
For more information and pictures of Opiliones, tryEd Nieuwenhuys' page. Pictures of Opiliones with thanks, from Ed's page.
Information provided with thanks by Elizabeth Cameron Information Officer, Australian Museum's Information and Resource Centre after several queries about Daddy Long Legs being the most venomous spider in the world.
Here's an email and some photos of some strange behaviour by some opiliones from Brennan.
Hello Glen, I was hiking along side a creek bed and I saw this cave structure and I happened to spot a Orchard spider around the rocks in the entrence of this cave-like openeing. I happened to also see some Harvestman by the area as well. I kept trying to look inside the opening to see if I could see anything. A minute or two latter I heard this ruffling inside the cave and I thought it was some sort of mammel (i.e. a skunk or snake maybe). Then I heard this low frequency high pitch streetching noise coming and some sort of whislings of grass noise as well. Instantly after, 200+ harvestman spiders were rushing out of the cave. It was an amazing sight to see. It was like looking at an angry ants colony. They were climbing on all sides of the rock walls, running through the dead leaves of the dark floor, and coming from all sorts of cracks and opening within the rocks. The noise continued for another minute or so. It was almost like there was some gaseous flames bursting from some thermal vent on the other side of their home and they were running for their lives not to become fried chicken(spiders). It was very spectacular to see and hear so many of them. I think it was my flickering of my flash on my camera that made them come....As a matter of fact,now that I think aboutr it, the noise the flash makes sounds somewhat similar to the noise the harverstmen were making. It's plausible that thats what really triggered such an abundous amount of them to come out. I have some photos of the small cave and plenty of pictures to give you an idea of how many there were. Now the pictures you see are not even close to the amount that were there but the bunches in the pictures hopefully give you an idea. Thanks again, -Brennan
Introduction: The Jewelled Spider is also known by its Latin name - Gasteracantha Minax, meaning "threatening and projecting". They are also known as spiny orb weavers and are part of the orb weaving spider family. This spider's body is very broad and grows to the size of a 20c piece, with its 8 legs being the length of a pin (fairly short for a spider). Its abdomen is strikingly coloured with bright yellow and white and black. Six stout spines (long and sharp) come from the border of the abdomen.
Habitat: These spiders mostly can be found in tropical and subtropical regions of the world including Australia. In Australia, this Jewelled Spider has been found in all states including Tasmania and on numerous islands off the coast. It is particularly common in the Summer months of January and February. These spiders inhabit mostly shrub areas close to swamps and creeks. Many Jewelled Spiders are solitary but the well known Christmas Spiders are frequently found in colonies of communal webs which may number hundreds and even thousands. These large colonies overlap one another among shrubbery in the bushland.
Prey: Jewelled Spiders spin a fine circular web (wheel-like) to snare their prey. Their webs often overlap and are usually built a metre or two from the ground. Their prey includes flying insects especially flies and communities of these spiders are very social in that they share their prey no matter whose web it lands on.
Like most spiders, the Jewelled Spider mates, the female eats the males, the female lays eggs, the eggs hatch and the young spiders are on their own from hatching. Sometimes they are carried away from the web by the wind.
Venom: Jewelled Spiders have a bite that gives a mild local pain. They are harmless to humans and usually move out of the way when approached. If bitten, the victim (fly) would be paralysed then snared in the web.
The female is the stronger of the breed and her bite is more intense. If bitten by a Jewelled Spider, a human may experience localized pain and swelling. He/she should apply a cold compress or ice to the area. If swelling or pain does not subside, he/she should seek medical advice in case of allergy.
Spiny Orb Weaver Spider Spinning A Web
Spider Silk Extraction! Spiny Orb Weaver
Other Spiders as a pet .. Introduction and keeping
Other spiders Species : Common Australian Spiders 1 ... 2 .... 3
Common United States Spiders and Americas 1 ... 2 .... 3
Other Spiders as a pet .. Introduction and keeping
Other spiders Species : Common Australian Spiders 1 ... 2 .... 3
Common United States Spiders and Americas 1 ... 2 .... 3
Due to the large number of spiders species and other arachnids .. moreover the new species discovered every year .. we will review only the most popular and wide spread spiders in the next few pages from Australia and the USA ..