So there I was last night, sitting at my perch near my open window, tapping away on my laptop, as is my wont, when I spotted some movement out of the corner of my eye.
Blow me down, if it wasn't a mature (and quite nice looking) specimen of Latrodectus hasselti, more commonly known as the Redback Spider:
She's a good-sized female, and was engaged in creating the vertical threads of a new web when I most impolitely intruded wth camera and light, running away and hiding by the time I'd got in a few good shots.
Now, these little babies are...