The deadly Australian redback spider has found a home in New Zealand, and they are not moving, new research suggests.
Conditions in parts of New Zealand, particularly Central Otago, Hawke's Bay, Auckland, North Auckland and New Plymouth, allow the spider - from the same genus as New Zealand's katipo - to breed and live.
Redback spiders preferred warm, dry conditions but research published this month in the Biological Invasions Journal showed the spiders could settle in moderately wet, urban areas as long as there was shelter.
The highest risk urban areas were in the north and east of the North Island.
"They are probably just as shy and retiring as the katipo, but they tend to be in urban areas, so people are more likely to encounter them," AgResearch arachnologist Cor Vink told The Press.
Their bite was incredibly painful and did not respond to the usual pain medication, he said.
Dr Vink and fellow AgResearch scientist Dr Craig Phillips recorded redback sightings and used climate and vegetation modelling to determine the most likely settlement areas as part of the 12-year Better Border Biosecurity research programme.
