Redback Spider

The Australian Red Back Spider (Latrodectus hasselti) is a close relative of the American Black Widow Spider (the main difference being the presence of a red stripe on the spiders back). It is widely distributed throughout Australia in essentially all habitats and is common in urban areas. The spider typically builds webs under objects and in dry, sheltered spaces (seats / shelves / fence lines etc) and has drop lines to the ground. Only the female Red Back Spider is dangerous to humans. The female spider does not wander far from its web and unlike the funnel web spider, is not aggressive with most bites occurring during summer months when people make contact with the web.