Talk:Redback spider

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 14 January 2020 and 30 April 2020. Further details are available on the course page. Peer reviewers: Jsjacobs98.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 07:55, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Photos of Redback Spiders
The spiders in the article are black widows, not redbacks. See http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=573&e=24&u=/nm/20050211/od_nm/australia_spiders_dc for pictures of actual redback spiders. MSTCrow 06:13, Feb 12, 2005 (UTC) I've updated the photo with a picture of an actual Redback spider taken outside my house yesterday. Orichalcon 02:43, May 30, 2005 (UTC)

Lightning speed or slow moving?
Can we resolve "lightning speed" ("Prey" section) with "slow moving" ("Bites in humans" section)?

Reported deaths
Just keeping notes here on sources reporting deaths. Feel free to add to it. --99of9 (talk) 11:13, 1 September 2013 (UTC)
 * None recorded yet:
 * Man, 3 weeks later, septic poisoning:
 * Young girl, possibly redback:
 * None recorded yet:
 * Infant, presumed redback (one found):
 * 77 year old man:
 * 76 year old bitten three times:
 * 52 year old man:
 * 2 year old boy:
 * 7 year old boy:
 * Time to death - 3 month old: hours - adult: up to 30 days -
 * Time to death - 3 month old: hours - adult: up to 30 days -

I was told when doing medic training that there had been no deaths purely attributable to red back bite since the anti-venom became widely available. Djapa Owen (talk) 14:54, 4 September 2013 (UTC)
 * That's about right, but apparently one entomologist heard of one death since 1962: --99of9 (talk) 15:06, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

My concern with these references is that they are newspaper articles from many years ago. such that the medical details are not universally investigated. It is easy to say someone was bitten. But proof needs more elements: a spider identified by a spider expert, a collection of symptoms consistent with latrodectism. Since death is a rare event (an extraordinary outcome) The threshold for credible evidence is even higher. These claims meet the threshold of a wiki: that is is widely reported in the 1930-50's that redback bite had resulted in death. But They don't hold scientific rigor. Especially when there are no contemporary deaths. Attributing that to antivenom is suspect. Antivenom was used in Los Angeles, USA in the 20's. PMCID PMC1655382 It was used in Italy in the 50's. PMID: 14301291. Moreover there should be deaths by people unable to reach medical attention. This is the cae with another arachnid teh scorpion in Morocco. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Moderntarantula (talk • contribs) 17:20, 9 March 2019 (UTC)

Image
2nd image stating 'male redback' is wrong ! While it is smaller, the male is identical to female without red stripe. The image used is actually some kind of 'Orb Weaver', non-venomous. 49.181.3.216 (talk) 08:23, 3 August 2022 (UTC)
 * The second image appears to be an enlarged version of the same specimen as the male in File:Latrodectus hasselti male and female.png, so is almost certainly correct. The sourced description of the male says "the male redback ... is light brown, with white markings on the upper side of the abdomen and a pale hourglass marking on the underside", which fits the upper side of the specimen in the challenged photo. Peter coxhead (talk) 06:14, 4 August 2022 (UTC)
 * Interesting. I'd be interested to see your sources. A few hours after I took those photos I saw the two spiders in the second photo (the one with both) copulating. The recognition dance was rather bizarre, and the female ate the male after they'd finished, but they definitely mated. I didn't have my camera with me when I saw that, or I'd have photographed (or better, videod) it. Wocky (talk) 05:40, 9 September 2022 (UTC)
 * (That last was in response to the comment from 29.181.3.216). Also, the males are actually different individuals.Wocky (talk) 05:45, 9 September 2022 (UTC)