Redback spider is a venomous spider common in Australia. It is closely related to the black widow spiders of the United States and the katipō of New Zealand. The small, inoffensive male redback presents no danger to human beings. A female redback, however, grows larger and may bite people. The female has a glossy black body about the size of a pea and thin, black legs. A stripe, which may vary in color from yellow-orange to scarlet, runs along the upper surface of her body.
People bitten by female redback spiders may become ill and suffer severe pain. Deaths from redback bites have been virtually eliminated since the development of an antivenin (medicine used to combat animal venom) in the 1950’s.
