Spiders are members of the class Arachnida. Other members include ticks, mites and scorpions. Generally, spiders have eight legs, two-part bodies, fangs, and organs that spin webs. Spiders are essential to our ecosystem as they prey on insects and keep their populations under control.
Australia has about 2,000 species of spider but most are relatively harmless to humans. Funnel-web spiders (indigenous to Sydney) and red-back spiders (found throughout the country) are perhaps the most venomous spiders in Australia.
