Hi Gardeners,
I need help with spider identification. I photographed a spider which looked like a redback, but didn't have the characteristic stripe.
It was shiny black with a dimple in its abdomen. It was about 15mm in length. We found it inside a cinder block in my western sydney backyard.
Could anyone help in identifying this spider?
Fabio
This likely is a brown house spider/cupboard spider, Steatoda grossa. It is in the same family (Theridiidae) as the redback spider, and its venom is strong enough to cause discomfort in humans - see http://avru-dev.esrc.unimelb.edu.au/files/imported/compendium/biogs/A000017b.htm for more details. As a young child, I was bitten by another species in this genus, and it was quite painful.
thanks very much thats the one!
Fabio
