Black House Spider

Description
The Black House Spider has dark brown to black carapace and legs. The abdomen is charcoal grey with a dorsal pattern of white markings

Size
Female is up to 18mm. Male is about 9mm

Habitat
tree trunks, logs, rock walls and buildings (in window frames, wall crevices, etc).

Food
insects such as flies, moths, beetles

Breeding
The female Black House Spider never leaves her web unless forced to, but keeps on repairing it - old webs can look grey and woolly from constant additions of silk. Males, when ready to mate, go in search of females in their webs. The male plucks the web of the female to attract her attention.

Range
southern and eastern Australia.

Notes
The bite may be quite painful and cause local swelling. Symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, sweating and giddiness are occasionally recorded.

ClassificationClass: Arachnida

Order: Araneomorphae

Family: Desidae

Genus: Badumna

Species: longinqua