Austracantha minax
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| Austracantha minax (Thorell, 1859) |
Austracantha minax (with common names including Australian jewel spider, Christmas spider and spiny spider) is a distinctive Australian spider.
This species occurs throughout most of Australia. They like to make their webs in shrubby woodlands in large communities of spiders with each individual web connected together into a miniature spider city.
Eggs sacs are red-brown, and can be a variety of shapes. They are usually attached to a twig near the web. Females are larger than males measuring 7 mm as opposed to the males' smaller 4 mm.
The bite of A. minax is only mildly painful, with a temporary local reaction.
[edit] Photos
 Topside of a jewel spider hanging on its web |
 Underside of a jewel spider crawling along wire |
 A Jewel Spider |
 A Jewel Spider on a bit of string with a garden orb weaver semi visible at the bottom of the photo |
