One of the joys of living where we do is that home 'visitors' are common. Our back yards are full of interesting creatures....some cute and some not so cute! While I do love checking out the native fauna, this little girl was a little scary. She is one of the biggest red back spiders that I've ever seen!
Before Christmas, we bought a new outdoor table setting. Thinking that we were very trendy, we opted for a nice black number. We didn't even consider how black also makes the perfect camouflage for black spiders. I knew that she was in there....her messy web gave her away.....but I just couldn't spot her. She was hiding up under the rim of the table, in a little hole! Actually, I think it must have been a huge hole to fit her in.
For those outside of Australia, these spiders are deadly, although if bitten, it usually involves a few days in hospital, an antivenom and feeling very sick. They are not fast and are usually easy to spot. Their abdomen tends to be not much bigger than your little finger nail. The problem that we have with them is that they like to get up under outdoor furniture to nest and so can take you by surprise if you don't know they are there!
I can assure you, however that this red back was enormous...more like thumb nail size! And yes, I think that is a grasshopper she was chowing down on!
I am sorry to say, however that a can of repellent did a quick job....after I took the photograph, of course!
