Reporoa farmer may have found redback spider

A farmer from Reporoa south of Rotorua has discovered what could be the first redback spider in the Central North Island.

While out checking water troughs recently on the farm where he works, Simon Coates got a fright when he found a small black spider with a distinctive red strip down the middle of its back nesting 200m from his home.

He collected spiders when living in Australia and said he knew the one he found was a redback. "It has those distinctive red markings on its back and underside."

Collecting the live spider in a container, Mr Coates notified the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF).

He is now concerned there may be an infestation on the farm, with spider eggs also found in the vicinity.

"Where you find one you are going to find more," he said.

Small colonies of the Australian spider have been established in the lower part of the South Island and New Plymouth since the early 1980s.

Maf entomologist Dave Voice said he was unable to confirm the specimen of spider, but it was likely to be a redback.

"We can't get it more defined than being of the latrodectus [venomous spider] species because it is immature. It is most likely to be a redback because katipos tend to live in more coastal environments," he said.

The Ministry of Health has confirmed the Lakes District Health Board will investigate to determine the size of the Reporoa infestation.

Ministry deputy chief technical officer for biosecurity John Gardner said people should not panic if they discovered the spiders because they were not aggressive unless disturbed.

"These spiders are known to be venomous but they are very shy and there have been very few reports of people being bitten by them," he said.

However, if people are bitten they should seek medical help.

New Zealand has anti-venom supplies for katipo bites, which are also effective for treating redback bites.

- DAILY POST (ROTORUA)