Red Back Spider

Facts and Information about the Red Back Spider
Did you know the following facts about the arachnid commonly known as the Red Back Spider?  Description and key features for spider Identification. The easy way to identify spiders!

Common Name and Latin Name
The Common Name and Latin Name are as follows:
Common Name (s): Red Back Spider
Latin Name: Latrodectus hasselti

Red Back Spider identification - what does it look like?
The Red Back spider looks a lot like the Black widow spider, being black in colour with a noticeable red strip on its back.

What do Red Back Spiders eat? What is its prey?
The red back spider will feed on:

• Mainly insects captured in its web

• Ants
• They will also kill and feed on bigger creatures stuck in their webs such as:

  • King crickets

  • Trapdoor spiders

  • Small lizards

How big is the Red Back Spider?
Female Red Back spiders can grow to have a body length of a centimetre with the male reaching only 3 to 4 millimetres long.

Where does the Red Back Spider live, what is its habitat?
The Red Back spider can be found in Australia, making its home in place like:

• Dry sheltered places

• Among rocks
• Logs
• Shrubs
• Old Trees
• Sheds
• Outhouses
• Children's toys
• Under rubbish

What is the average life span of the Red Back Spider?
The male Red Back spider lives for only around 6 to 7 months with the female Red Back spider living for about 2 to 3 years! 

Facts and Information about the Red Back Spider
Did you know the following facts about the arachnid commonly known as the Red Back Spider?

• Fact One - The Red Back spiders looks very much like the Black Widow spider

• Fact Two - The Red Back spiders is apart of the widow spider family
• Fact Three - Their webs are a messy tangle of threads leading to a funnel were the spider will retreat and keep its egg sack
• Fact Four - Male Red Back spiders mature in around 37 days to 167.
• Fact Five - Female Red Back spiders mature in about 60 to 325 days.
• Fact Six - While mating, in 2 out of 3 cases the female will eat the male.
• Fact Seven - A female lays between 40 and 300 eggs per sack.
• Fact Eight - Female Red Back spiders can lay up to 5000 eggs.

Does the Red Back Spider have good eyesight?
Generally speaking the Red Back Spider has poor eyesight and relays mainly on its sense of vibration.

Classification of the Red Back Spider
Species of spiders are classified according to shared physical characteristics. Spider taxonomy is the science of finding, describing, classifying and naming organisms in a hierarchical system. This method of classification helps when a description of 40,000 spiders is required! The organization of living things have seven major categories: Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species. The classification of the Red Back Spider is as follows:

Kingdom: Animalia
(Kingdom relates to the highest taxonomic group into which organisms are grouped; one of five biological categories: Monera or Protoctista or Plantae or Fungi or Animalia) :

Phylum: Arthropoda
(Phyla are groups of classes. A series of animals or plants genetically connected with shared characteristics. The second biggest grouping in taxonomy. Arthropoda are jointed-foot invertebrates: arachnids, crustaceans, insects etc

Class: Arachnida
A Class is a taxonomic group containing one or more orders. Arachnid  consist of any of the eight-legged creatures, including spiders and scorpions, of the class Arachnida

Order: Araneae
A taxonomic order, within the class Arachnida (spiders)

Subclass:
The Subclass is nother taxonomic category below a class and above an order which helps in the classification process

Family: Theridiidae
Another taxonomic category below an order and above a genus which helps in the classification process.

Genus: Latrodectus
Another taxonomic category below a family and above the level of species which helps in the classification process.

Species: L. hasselti
Specis is a taxonomic group whose members can interbreed.

Spider Exterminators - Pest Control 
Generally speaking, people do not like spiders especially Red Back Spiders and most of all, do not want them in their homes! There are many forms of pest control and ways to exterminate spiders such as Red Back Spiders. There are spider exterminators, services, spider zappers, spider traps, spider repeller, spider catchers, spider traps for the removal and extermination process. Advice is available on subjects such as pest controls, pest prevention, spider catchers, spider exterminators and how to kill spiders like Red Back Spiders. Some people would like to eliminate spiders from there homes completely, this can be very difficult as an open window on a summers day will allow spiders in, even opening your front door when entering and leaving will allow pesky spiders in. It is very easy to get rid of Red Back Spiders by catching them yourself. Its best not to kill spiders as they are very important in controlling the level of other insects that are pests.