Spring is here, and so are all the bugs, insects... and spiders!! That's great if they're out in the garden doing their own thing, but wuen they get a bit too close, then it's time to tidy things up and get out the bug barrier spray. That time has now come. We have a tiny, yet unwelcome visitor in our garage.
This, from what I can tell, is a juvenile Redback Spider. For size reference, that is my thumb being held at a safe distance from this beast.
The Redback Spider is a very common spider in Australia, and is believed responsible for the most reported envenomations requiring antivenom than any other creature in Australia. This is mainly because they love to build their webs in garages, sheds, or any other sheltered spot around houses. While they can be deadly to small children, and can deliver a very painful bite, which causes severe pain and fever for up to a few days, their are not generally considered as life-threatening.
Beacuse this one is very small, I decided to test out my phone camera. I couldn't get it to focus on the spider, to set it to "pro" mode, with manual focus.
I managed to get a few shots, which show the trademark red hourglass on the spider's abdomen.
Not a bad shot on manual mode on a smartpbone. My DSLR didn't do a whole lot better, probably because the operator isn't all that good at finding his way aroind the features yet. This is what I got from my DSLR camera.
As painful as this little spider's bite may be when it grow up a bit, it is unlikely at this size that it would have fangs big or strong enough to deliver a solid bit to me, but I didn't want to take the chance of getting too close.
It is a pretty spider, but it has made its home in the wrong place this time. I'll probably move it outside... to the neighbor's garden..... when they're not home.
Team Australia, Team South Africa, and The Alliance banners by 
@ryivhnn