Spiders

Tips for submitting spider sightings: 

Photos from various angles are sometimes necessary for specific ID.

• front (eye arrangement, pedipalp colour)
• dorsal (above - general colouration, carapace and abdomen patterns)
• ventral (underneath - especially useful for some of the ground-dwelling families and orb-weaving families)
• side (further details for general shape, abdomen patterns and eye configuration)
• back (further details for abdomen pattern).

Comments or photos on the following also provides valuable information if/when such features are applicable and observed...

• surroundings and location (eg. ground, leaf litter, hand rail, tree trunk)
• web structure and silk use (eg. orb, messy & tangled, throwing silk)
• breeding (eg. display, egg sac)
• behaviour (eg. hunting, interaction, familiarity with people such as the threatening display of a huntsman or the friendly and curious jumping spiders that jump onto the camera lens)
• notable, unique, exciting or strange observations (eg. spur-like protrusions from legs, camouflage, mimicry)

Please note that the size of the spider is measured by body length.

• body size is from the top of the cephalothorax (head) to the tip of the abdomen without including the legs.

(Updated: October, 2022. Please feel free to message a spider moderator if you have any queries or suggestions for improvement)

Resources: 

• Field guide: A Field Guide to Spiders of Australia authored by Robert Whyte & Greg Anderson

• A good introduction: http://www.ento.csiro.au/education/allies/araneae.html

• All about Australian spiders: http://www.arachne.org.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=2409

Spiders

Moderators

Announcements

Platform consolidation and impact to regional functionality

Improvements to Search

NatureMapr 2025 partner update presented to Commonwealth DCCEEW

New feature: special fields for collections

Discussion

Top contributors

• Hejor1 2.2K
• AlisonMilton 1K
• TimL 846
• trevorpreston 790
• CathB 677
• ConBoekel 409
• Harrisi 391
• kasiaaus 355
• Christine 255
• WendyEM 238

Top moderators

• MichaelMulvaney 7.8K
• YumiCallaway 1.5K
• NateKingsford 1.3K
• KimPullen 969
• EmmaCollins 778
• EathanDouglas 386
• MichaelBedingfield 294
• Bron 168
• Harrisi 112
• NedJohnston 53