Our First Redback.....

Found a red-back on our balcony for the first time last night.. Have to admit I was slightly worried, but I guess it was going to come at some point. Turns out they are not quite as venomous as I thought (although still one of the most poisonous spiders in the world) & only one person has died from a bite since anti-venom was created in 1958.

Decided I'd read up about red-backs & found some interesting facts about them on wikipedia.

The red-back spider is one of only two animals to date where the male has been found to actively assist the female in sexual cannibalism. In the process of mating, the much smaller male somersaults to place his abdomen over the female's mouthparts. In about 2 out of 3 cases, the female consumes the male while mating continues. Males who were not eaten died soon after mating.

The act of sacrificing himself allows the male two advantages (not sure how been eaten can create any advantages) over males who are not eaten. The first is that males who were eaten were able to copulate for a longer period and thus fertilize more eggs. The second is that females who had eaten a male were more likely to reject subsequent males. So there you go.....

Turns out red-backs are fans of sandstone....guess what our apartment is built into? Yes, that's right - a cliff-face of sandstone. Fingers crossed I don't find a spider lurking under the toilet seat!