Distinctive spiders
Funnel web spider
Whistling spider
Mouse spider
Golden Trapdoor spider
Redback spider
Brown Huntsmen spider
Wolf spider
Funnel web spider
Funnel webs are potentially the most dangerous spiders in the world. In Queensland they tend to be more common in moist, cool rainforests and have been found as far north as Gladstone, west to Toowoomba and in the Brisbane area around the base of Mt Cootha, the Daisy Hill Forest Park and adjacent parts of Springwood. They have also been found in remote mountain rainforests west of Mossman in North Queensland.
Distinguishing features are a shiny black head, closely grouped eyes, moderately long legs, black or dark plum body. The head or body of a female funnel web can cover a 50 cent coin, and the legs easily span the width of an adult hand.
Both males and females are very aggressive and bites from either sex are potentially dangerous, even fatal. The bite may cause severe pain followed by numbness of the affected area, vomiting, sweating and muscular cramp.
First aid for funnel web spiders
- Keep the patient calm and still.
- Apply a pressure immobilisation bandage immediately.
- Seek immediate medical help.
Whistling spider
Whistling webs is another type of Trapdoor spider and makes an audible hissing sound when disturbed. It is not usually aggressive but will rear up if provoked. The bite is painful and may cause severe nausea and vomiting for six to eight hours. Dogs quickly succumb to their bite.
In Queensland it is found in the north and west and is very large with legs spanning around 12cm.
Mouse spider
Mouse spiders are common in suburban gardens, native bushland and some rainforests throughout Australia. They vary in size from a 5 to a 20 cent coin in leg span and are often confused with funnel webs. The venom is believed to be as dangerous and dry bites are common.
From underneath, the fangs of the mouse spider cross at the tips but in the funnel web and all other Trapdoor spiders, the fangs lie parallel when closed.
Golden Trapdoor spider
Golden trapdoor spiders are found throughout Queensland mostly near tracks in national parks in the south-east. Their heads are golden brown and glossy and they put a "door" (a thick plug of soil and web) on their burrows. No bites have been recorded.
Redback spider
Redback spiders are hardy animals that breed freely, live in hidden places, disperse easily and are very difficult to control or eradicate. They build their webs under window sills, guttering and eaves, in the corner of windows and doors, under steps and verandas, around pot plants and in crevices of bricks.
The adult female usually has a black body and legs, a distinct red mark on the upperside and a red hourglass on the underside. Males and young redbacks are a dirty white colour with six black spots on the top of the abdomen and a white hourglass underneath. Males are much smaller than females and rarely seen.
The female is able to store the sperm of a male and use it over a period of two years to lay several batches of eggs. Redbacks normally lay from 40 up to 300 eggs in a sac and usually make three to five sacs at a time.
Both males and females can bite but female bites are more common. The initial bite is often felt but may be painless although some victims have reported burning sensations. Puncture marks are not always obvious. In most bites, intense local pain is experienced about five minutes after. The main symptom of a redback bite is local sweating at the bite site.
First aid for redback and other spider bites
- Apply antiseptic and an ice pack to the bite.
- Do not use a pressure immobilisation bandage.
- Seek medical advice and if possible take the spider.
The best way to control redback spiders is to push a stick quickly into the web as far as it will go and roll the spider, the eggs and web onto the stick. Remove the stick from the web and crush the spider and the eggs. Insecticide spraying does help but is not very effective.
Brown Huntsmen spider
Brown Huntsmen are commonly found inside houses and sheds. In the day they hide under bark and at night they hunt over tree trucks and the ground. Many young may be found in bathrooms where they emerge from an egg sac attached inside the pipes. Huntsmen are not aggressive but could bite if they handled. The bite is painful but seldom produces more than a mild headache, local pain or swelling.
Wolf spider
Wolf spiders vary in size from a one cent coin to almost the width of an average adult hand. They are drab-coloured with dark brown or black heads marked with lighter radial markings resembling a Union Jack pattern. From the front, the spiders have two large and two smaller pairs of shiny black eyes and two large fang-bearing bumps with a distinct orange patch on the side. Wolf spiders are ground hunters often disturbed in gardens where they build burrows in the soil or live among fallen leaves. If they are mishandled, they may bite and cause rapid pulse, dizziness, nausea, swelling and persistent pain and tingling but most bites have no reaction.
For more information about some of Queensland’s most distinctive spiders, check out the Queensland Museum’s website.
Last updated 22 July 2008