Scorpion-tailed Spider (Arachnura higginsi)

Scorpion-tailed Spider (Arachnura higginsi)Scorpion-tailed Spider Egg Sacs The Spider and the Web

Known as the Scorpion-tailed Spider (Arachnura higginsi), whose other common name is the Scorpion Orb Weaver, this spider occurs in many parts of Australia, including Queensland, down to the southern states and Tasmania.

It can be found in most types of bushland and occasionally in urban gardens where it tends to build a web that is vertical or has some angles of inclination. There have been instances where they have built a web horizontally. The web itself is not a fully circular orb web, as the upper two sectors are left incomplete, with just radial threads. The size of the web is about 1 metre in diameter and is made about one to two metres above the ground.

In the following image, the photo was taken with the sunlight behind the spider in Brisbane, Queensland.

It is the female Arachnura higginsi that is most often seen, staying in the centre of her web. The female develops the long tail over her lifetime, the tail getting longer after each moult. This tail can be arched over the head from behind, which is reminiscent of a scorpion in attack position. The female spider also has large pointed shoulders of the upper abdomen, that reach well over the rear parts of the cephalothorax (as can be seen in the following photos). This is a characteristic of this species.

The adults colour can vary between individuals, but are usually brown to cream, yellow and sometimes black. The juveniles can be brightly coloured, from pink, yellow, red, brown or cream.

The female of the species produces a string of up to 8 woolly-brown coloured egg sacs, each about 5mm long, starting from the top of the web, down to the centre. There are around 60 eggs measuring about 0.8 mm in diameter. The female then positions herself at the lowest point of the egg sacs.

Like most orb spiders, the male is much smaller. It is tailless and can be hard to spot, sometimes hanging around on the fringe of the web.