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Apart
from several types of indigenous Australian spiders whose
bites are often dangerous and occasionally life-threatening,
most are relatively harmless. However, any spider bite
should receive medical attention as soon as possible as
blood poisoning or an infection may result.
biology
Those
spiders which depend on webbing to catch their prey rarely
move far and usually hide in such places as cracks and
crevices, leaves, or camouflage as twigs.
Hunting spiders, most of which are ground dwellers, are
less dependent on webs and move around mainly at night
in search of food.
Male
spiders seek out females at mating time. After mating,
the male becomes an immediate high protein meal to assist
the egg production of the female. The eggs are usually
deposited into a silken sac produced by the female. The
spiderlings hatch inside the sac and moult once before
they emerge. They must find their own food and disperse
quickly in search of it. After several moults they become
adults and those that survive can usually expect to live
for 1 - 3 years.
Whether
the spider traps the prey in a web or hunts to capture
it, the victim is injected with venom through the fangs
which immobilises it. The body is then squeezed amd the
erupting liquid is sucked in through the small mouth behind
the fangs at the base of the palps. Most species can survive
for months without food. This is just as well as insect
prey is usually scarce in the colder months.
Silk
or web is produced from the glands in the abdomen and
deposited through the spinnerets. The orb-weaving spiders
produce an adhesive silk for the snare area of the web
and drier silk for the radii and guy lines. In some species,
spiderlings let out sufficient web into the air to lift
and carry the away.
species
With several types of spiders having a potentially lethal bite, it is important to know one from the other. Find
out more >>
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