Australian Wildlife
Brown Tree Spider

Click on thumbnail images to view larger, higher quality images.

• SITE INDEX
• Home
• Birds
• Bushfire
• Animals
• Marine
• Snakes
• Spiders
• Resources

• ADDITIONAL PAGES
• Golden Orb Weaver
• Huntsman Spider
• Jumping Spider
• Net Casting Spiders
• Orb Weaving
• Redback Spiders
• St Andrews Cross

Photo 1

The Brown Tree spider's web is one of the most common of all spider webs. However, the spider it self is not seen that often due to its reclusive life style

They can be found almost everywhere, in the bush, parks, on fences and in residential back yards.

Photo 2

Like most other spiders, Brown Tree spiders have four pairs of eyes; four facing forward and four looking up and sideways as can be seen in the photo above.

The largest Brown Tree spider I have seen had a body length of approximately 20 mm.

Photo 3 - Habitat.

Brown Tree spider webs are similar to the Black House spider webs and can easily be identified by the lattice type structure and twin circular entrances to the den.

Brown Tree spiders are reclusive and hide just inside the entrance to their den. They will only come out of hiding if something contacts or gets caught in its web.

Photo 4 - Garden habitat.

Home is where you make it as far as the Brown Tree spider above is concerned.

A fork in an Azalea bush provides a risky den for this young spider seen here feeding on the remains of a white moth. A Minor bird ate this spider a couple of days after I took the photo.

Photo 5 - Ground habitat.

Brown Tree spiders will also build a web and den among leaves and sticks upon the ground. The photo above shows a horizontal web at ground level, made noticeable by the early morning dew suspended on the threads.

The ground habitat photos were taken at the base of a stand of Sheoak trees on an inland farm.

Photo 6 - Ground habitat.

The photo above shows a close-up of the entrance to the spider's den.

It took a fair bit of encouragement to get the spider to come out. It was so fast, I only caught a shot of it returning to its den. It was outside long enough to be identified as a Brown Tree spider.

Photo 7 - Tree habitat.

Usually found on trees with spiked or needle type of foliage. In suburban areas the Brown Tree spider will nest almost anywhere on plants where it can build a safe hiding place or den.

The two circular entrances in the web both lead to a central 100 mm deep den.

Photo 8 - Habitat Problems.

In rural (grazing ) areas, Brown Tree spiders often cause problems for land owners. Trees and shrubs used to feed grazing livestock become unpallatable to animals if the foliage is covered by spider webs.

In suburban areas, the webs on trees and shrubs can spoil their appearance.

All photos on this page were taken using a Panasonic Lumix FZ50 digital camera.