This looks like a white-tailed spider with its egg case. Am I correct? Fortunately, I have not seen these egg cases before, but is this what I have found? D.D., Ballarat Central.
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This is a white-tailed spider with its egg sac which are rather flat, tapering down from the centre, as your photo shows.
They are well-attached to a surface and are very different from the spherical sacs of the red-back or the huntsman's flat, circular discs.
The female spider guards the numerous eggs inside until they hatch.
Although white-tailed spiders have a bad reputation, their bites rarely go beyond causing local pain and an itching red lump. Studies have shown that ulcerations once attributed to the white-tailed spider were caused by unrelated infections.
- Questions and photos welcome. Send to Roger Thomas, The Courier, PO Box 21, Ballarat, 3353, or email rthomas@vic.australis.com.au
