Nyssus coloripes
Orange-Legged Swift Spider Identification Australia
Fast black-and-white Australian swift spider with yellow to orange front legs, wasp-like markings and a distinctive stop-start run across ground and foliage.
Usually low riskOrange-legged swift spider is the Australian common name most often used for Nyssus coloripes, an active Corinnidae hunter and pompilid-wasp mimic. It is commonly noticed running in quick stop-start bursts across leaf litter, open forest, grassland, logs, handrails or walls. Yellow to amber front legs and black-and-white markings are useful clues, but the related Nyssus albopunctatus can overlap and lacks the yellow front legs, so movement, pattern and the whole body should be checked together.
Quick identification
- Small 5–11 mm swift spider with a slim, active ground-hunter build
- Yellow, amber or orange front legs contrasting with the darker body
- Black body with white or yellow spots and stripes that can suggest a wasp mimic
- Stop-start runner in leaf litter, open forest, grass, logs, handrails or walls rather than a capture-web spider
What to check next
Watch the stop-start run and look at the front legs, paired rows of similar-sized eyes and black-and-white pattern together. Compare Nyssus albopunctatus when the front legs are not yellow, and use the broader swift-ground, wolf-spider and ant-mimic pages when the body or movement is unclear.
When to seek medical help
Swift spiders are not considered dangerous and Australian Museum reports that occasional bites usually cause minor effects that settle within minutes. Do not handle one to test its identity. After a bite, wash the area, use a cold pack for pain and seek medical advice for severe or spreading symptoms, allergic signs, infection or uncertainty about a funnel-web or mouse spider.
Where it is usually seen
Open forest, heath, grassland, rainforest edges, leaf litter, logs, sunny trunks, handrails, walls, windows and occasional indoor floors across mainland Australia and Tasmania.