6 May 2019

Expert on New Zealand Spiders

From Afternoons, 2:29 pm on 6 May 2019

In New Zealand there are around 2000 species - some are endemic and others have made their way here by hitching a ride with humans. They live in many different habitats from your bathroom to forests, beaches and alpine regions.

Leilani Walker in the field with New Zealand sheet-web spider web.Photo: Edin Whitehead

Funnel Web Spider. Photo: Vijay Cavale CC BY-SA 3.0

Rangatira spider. Photo: CC BY-SA Markanderson72

Trap jaw spider. Photo: Hannah Wood

Trapdoor spider. Photo: Leanda Mason

red back spider. Photo: 123rf.com

Nelson Cave Spider: Photo copyright Andrew McLachlan

White tail spider. Photo: 123rf.com

Dr Leilani Walker is our spider expert today, she also identifies some of the spiders in photos sent by listeners - see below

This critter popped out of a drawer in our new kitchen just out of Wanaka. My husband squealed. It's sitting on a 90mm wide t&g floorboard. We’ve never seen anything like it and would love to know what it is. Thanks, Bridget

Could you identify this? Sited in Blenheim. Thanks, Andrew

Spider vs fly on my driveway, Richard.

Initially when eating a wasp caught in its web intriguingly had a silver body and then turned to the dark brown/black spider. From Grant

Paul says this spider gave him a real fright and he's seen many others in his wood pile

Here is a wee spider for you, found in my house in Island Bay, Wgtn, and released into the garden - as we do with all but whitetails. - Robin.

I have lots of these around my home in Dunedin - Ian

Could you identify this? Sighted in Blenheim