A redback sits at the entrance to an old rabbit hole in the Cromwell Chafer Beetle Nature Reserve. An ‘‘unholy alliance’’ between redbacks and rabbits is threatening the chafer beetle, as redback webs in the rabbit holes show the beetle is the second... : Web of intrigue

Master’s student Jackie Spencer holds two live specimens of the redback spider at the Cromwell Chafer Beetle Nature Reserve. Photos: Pam Jones. : Web of intrigue

Master’s student Jackie Spencer, of Dunedin. : Web of intrigue

Chafer beetles are trapped in a redback web in the Cromwell Reserve. Photos: Jackie Spencer. : Web of intrigue

Old rabbit burrows make the perfect home for redbacks in the reserve. : Web of intrigue

Dead chafer beetle casings surround a redback in the reserve. : Web of intrigue

Web of intrigue : Web of intrigue