Redback Background

The Australian Redback or Jockey Spider belongs to a group of spiders known throughout the world as Black Widows (genus Latrodectus).

For many years, it was thought that most Black Widow spiders belonged to one cosmopolitan species, Latrodectus mactans. The taxonomy of the group is by no means settled, but the Redback Spider of Australia is currently thought to be a distinct species, Latrodectus hasseltii. Prior to the introduction of the specific antivenom in 1956, 13 deaths caused by Redback Spider bite were recorded in Australia.

Redbacks appear throughout Australia, but are most common where the natural environment has been disturbed, such as settled or urban areas. Within natural forest, the spiders are rare to absent. These facts, plus the spiders' ready ability to invade and colonise newly settled suburbs, initially implied that Redbacks may not be native to Australia.

Redbacks were first named in 1870, but by that time about 200 other spider species had already been found. If Redbacks were as common then as they are today, they should have been recorded sooner. Very similar species of Latrodectus occur in the Pacific Islands, New Zealand, Europe and North and South America.

Furthermore, it was from the Queensland seaports of Rockhampton and Bowen that the Redbacks were first collected. This adds strength to the possibility that the Redback might have been carried here unwittingly by ship.