Talk:Redback spider
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Article Grading: Spiders To do:
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Redback spider is within the scope of WikiProject Australia, which aims to improve Wikipedia's coverage of Australia and Australia-related topics. If you would like to participate, visit the project page. | ||
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Assessment comments
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The article originally claimed red-backs are native to Western Australia, but the (new)Queensland Museum link says they were first seen in Queensland, and in ports, so may be introduced. I've put origins 'uncertain' until this can be sorted out. --Townmouse 01:00, 4 Oct 2004 (UTC)
I'm the one who originally put in the West Austalian origin based on a few sources I read. I'm happy to leave the origin as uncertain until we get better information. I wonder if any genetic studies have been done on the Red Back. --RobertBrockway 17:00, 5 Oct 2004 (EST)
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[edit] 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)
[edit] Clarification needed
The article states: Contrary to common belief, bites from male red-back spiders are not dangerous, as reported by the Queensland Museum.
This needs to be reworded by someone more intimate with the subject than I am.
Either of these would clarify:
* The Queensland Museum reports that, contrary to common belief, bites from male red-back spiders are not dangerous. * Contrary to common belief, and reports from the Queensland Museum, bites from male red-back spiders are not dangerous.
However I'd go further and suggest that the Queensland Museum might not be needed there at all. Just make it a reference link if they have useful information on their own website. 218.214.148.59 00:25, 18 January 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Not the most dangerous?
"In reality it is far less dangerous to the general population than a number of other dangerous spider species native to Australia." - Is this really true? What other Australian spiders have killed people? The article should name these more dangerous spiders, or the sentence should be removed, IMHO. Rocksong 00:53, 27 March 2006 (UTC)
Sydney Funnel-web? CSIRO Web Site - [1] according to the article: Bites from the Sydney funnel-web spider have resulted in deaths AdamJudd 07:58, 19 November 2006 (UTC)
- Yes, but I think that's the only one. The quoted sentence was edited a while ago and now mentions the Funnel-web. So my complaint (written back in March) is no longer relevant. Rocksong 22:47, 19 November 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Dubious benefit
I removed the statement "This strategy [i.e. eating him] seems to benefit the male because the female will not mate again." Clearly, being eaten cannot benefit any creature.--Shantavira 14:06, 24 June 2006 (UTC)
- If it ensures that the female will not mate again (disclaimer: I've no idea whether it does), then it benefits him in the sense that the progeny are guaranteed to be his, not someone else's. Rocksong 03:25, 26 June 2006 (UTC)
It can benefit the species because the process guarantees that the female is nourished in order to produce progeny. Perhaps the person who wrote "benefit the male" had misunderstood the meaning of some source material. --Amandajm 05:51, 12 December 2006 (UTC)
It may actually benefit the male (or at least the male's genes) if by allowing itself to be eaten the male prevents any other male replacing it as the gene source for the female's offspring. Evolution and heredity can be much more complex than they first appear. Robert Brockway 06:18, 28 June 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Found in US?
While shopping with my cousin in Arizona, I saw a spider that appeared to resemble the one featured on this page. The article seems to say that these spiders reside exclusively in Australia... is that correct? Does anyone know of any US-native spider that resembles this one? 68.98.127.155 22:20, 8 July 2006 (UTC)
That would most likely be a Black Widow Spider. Orichalcon 11:31, 16 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Removed pic
The picture was not a male red-back.
Female red-backs are not always marked. The male is tiny and pale coloured, with white markings and could easily be mistaken for something else, unless you are familiar with the species. --Amandajm 05:46, 12 December 2006 (UTC)
- Would you mind helping me identify what type of spider it actually was? The picture was fairly good, so I'd like to put it on the correct article. For anyone who missed it, it's here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Redbackmale.JPG Orichalcon 19:42, 12 December 2006 (UTC)
[edit] That's real bad!
I just looked at those two photos of that spider sitting on a piece of computer paper. That spider is drunk!! You can tell it's drunk... it's legs are all splayed out every which way! That's not natural! Red-backs usually sit there with their legs drawn up ready to pounce and look at you with a very alert expression in all of their mean little eyes. But not that one! Someone has slipped that red-back a Mickey Finn. They ought to be reported!
--Amandajm 12:02, 12 December 2006 (UTC)
[edit] FA Class Article
What'll it take to bump this article and other spider articles up to FA-Class? Does it just need more references, or is there more to it than that? Orichalcon 06:17, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Red-back, Redback or Red Back?
I know nothing about these spiders but, after reading the article, I still have a question. Is it Red-back, Redback or Red Back? It may not be an important point but it stood out to me immediately. The article is titled Red-back spider and the opening sentence says "The redback spider (Latrodectus hasselti)...". The Bites in Humans sections says "Red back spider bites rarely cause significant morbidity".
It's possible that all of these forms of the name are correct but I think the article should adopt one and stick to it for consistency. --Fruv (talk) 02:54, 21 April 2008 (UTC)
I have checked the NCIB and it seems the correct usage is redback. I will change all occurrences for consistency. Erick880 (talk) 03:27, 21 April 2008 (UTC)
- I did a quick check of the links. Not only is "Redback" most used, but all the Australian links, and all the official or scientific links, use "Redback". So I believe the article should say "Redback", and the article should also renamed from "Red-back spider" to "Redback spider". Peter Ballard (talk) 00:13, 9 May 2008 (UTC)
[edit] Introduction Dispute
In the Following paragraph:
Most Australians dislike the redback spider, thanks in part to the frequency with which it is encountered in the environs of human habitations (it managed to secure a footing in Australian folklore in 1972 when it was immortalised in the song "Redback on the Toilet Seat" by Slim Newton,[1] (though often incorrectly credited to Slim Dusty)).
I feel the bolded sections need to be revised or removed, as they either violate NPOV, or are irrelevant for the topic. The Slim Newton reference would go in a trivia section which is discouraged by Wikipedia anyway. And I can find no evidence that 50.01% or more of Australians dislike the redback.
I look forward to everyone's opinion on this matter.
- The only references I could find on the internet about disliking redbacks were sites that quote this article. I think it's reasonable to assume that a lot of people don't like spiders but I don't think people dislike the redback more than any other type of dangerous spider. I support the removal of these of that text. --Fruv (talk) 23:57, 21 April 2008 (UTC)
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- I appreciate your cautiousness by using the "Dispute" template, but I think it would have been quite reasonable to just be WP:BOLD are remove it. It's obviously unencyclopedic. While I generally detest trivia sections, "Redback on the Toilet Seat" was a pretty big song in its day and can probably stay in. Peter Ballard (talk) 03:29, 22 April 2008 (UTC)
