Rufous Net-Casting Spider Identification Australia

About the Rufous net-casting spider

Rufous net-casting spiders are distinctive nocturnal hunters from eastern Australia. Asianopis subrufa was previously placed in the genus Deinopis, so older photos and field notes may still use Deinopis subrufa. They are useful to compare when a long, twig-like spider with very large forward-facing eyes is found hanging in foliage, garden plants or near a wall at night.

Exact-species hero photograph: Asianopis subrufa (formerly Deinopis subrufa) by Stu’s Images, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Exact-species specimen views

These licensed exact-taxon photographs show useful anatomy and variation. Use each caption for record and image context; no single image set represents every colour, posture or habitat.

How to identify the Rufous net-casting spider cautiously

Begin with the family-level pattern. Asianopis subrufa is a Deinopidae net-casting spider: a slender, long-legged night hunter with two enormously enlarged forward-facing eyes that can look like searchlights in a close photograph. At rest it hangs head-down among foliage, holding its long legs close to the body so it resembles a twig. A working spider may hold a small rectangular silk net between the front legs, ready to stretch over passing prey. Adult females are often salmon, rufous or pinkish brown with two low abdominal humps; males are shorter and thinner, with darker longitudinal stripes and small white horns above the eyes. Those clues together support a Rufous net-caster, but a cropped, daytime or out-of-focus image can only justify “net-casting spider” or Deinopidae. Keep the current name Asianopis subrufa while recording older Deinopis subrufa labels.

Clues that are not enough on their own

• Rufous, orange or pink-brown colour alone, because lighting, sex and other Asianopis overlap
• A very large pair of eyes without a whole-body view, which supports Deinopidae more than this species
• A long-legged twig posture with no visible net, because the net may be folded or absent during the day
• A single state record used to override current catalogue range or synonymy
• An old Deinopis subrufa label treated as a different species without checking the Asianopis transfer
• One white horn, stripe or abdominal hump in a cropped image
• A garden or wall encounter without the nocturnal habitat and adult characters
• A net triggered by tapping or bright light, because disturbance is not a diagnostic test
• A still image of a similar net-casting genus treated as proof of Asianopis subrufa

Colour, sex and life-stage variation

Sex and life stage produce striking differences. Australian Museum accounts give females about 25 mm body length and males about 15–20 mm; the male is more slender and can show dark-and-light longitudinal striping, while the female is fuller and often warm salmon to brown. Juveniles may be pale, greenish or weakly patterned and can occur in groups after emerging from an egg sac. A folded net, an empty front-leg posture or a spider seen in red flash can make the same individual look unrelated to a daylight photograph. The exact-species hero and gallery views on this page document particular Asianopis subrufa individuals, including colour and posture variation, rather than a universal colour chart. Do not use “rufous” colour alone, sex alone or one apparent horn to settle the species; record body length without legs, head-down posture, eye size, locality and a whole-body view.

Behaviour, web and retreat

Net-casting spiders are nocturnal visual hunters. After hanging from a silk line or vegetation, an Asianopis makes a small cribellate net, holds it in the front legs and stretches it around an insect or other arthropod when the prey passes within reach. Ants, beetles, crickets and other spiders are recorded food, and the net is remade as needed. During the day the spider may remain motionless against a twig, with the net absent or folded, so “no web” means no large capture web rather than no silk. It can retreat into foliage or a small silk shelter when disturbed. Do not shine a bright light into its eyes, tap the plant, pull the silk line or try to trigger a throw; the dramatic netting action is a feeding behaviour and not a safe identification test.

Australian distribution

The World Spider Catalog accepts Asianopis subrufa (L. Koch, 1878) in Deinopidae and records Australia in Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania, as well as New Zealand. The Australian Museum’s current profile documents eastern Australia from Tasmania through Victoria and southern Queensland, including the ACT region, and the site’s state filters retain Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania as practical Australian discovery prompts. Older literature and photographs may use Deinopis subrufa because the Australian species was transferred to Asianopis after Deinopis was restricted to New World species. Other Asianopis occur in Australia, so a large pair of eyes and a handheld net do not automatically prove A. subrufa. Keep the state or island, habitat, sex, season and several views with any record; use the broader net-casting page when the locality or adult pattern is uncertain.

What to do if you find one

Leave this fragile night hunter on its shrub, wall edge or low branch. Photograph from a little distance with a red light or dim phone light where practical, then take one whole-body frame, one front view showing the enlarged eyes, one image of the plant and one of any net or silk line. Put a ruler or familiar object beside the spider rather than touching it. Do not collect a spider, net or egg sac, and do not move foliage to force a better angle. Gloves are sensible before gardening, but hands should stay out of dense shrubs, bark gaps and leaf litter. If a spider must be moved indoors, use a wide container and card only when there has been no bite and fingers can remain clear, then release it onto nearby sheltered vegetation. For a suspected bite, follow current Australian health advice based on symptoms; a calm photo identification cannot determine medical risk.

Compare with similar spiders

Use body shape, web or retreat, location and behaviour together before settling on a likely match.

• Net-casting spider — Net-casting spider - use the broader Deinopidae page when the huge eyes and handheld net are clear but locality, sex or adult pattern cannot support A. subrufa.
• Long-jawed orb weaver — Long-jawed orb-weaver - Tetragnatha can be slender and long-legged in vegetation, but its elongated jaws and orb web differ from the enormous forward eyes and small front-leg net.
• Nursery web spider — Nursery-web spider - Pisauridae may hang in foliage with long legs and a silk retreat, but it does not have the same searchlight eyes and cast net.
• Fishing spider — Fishing spider - Dolomedes can be large and long-legged near water; check for water-surface behaviour and a different body build instead of using size alone.

Sources for this profile

These accessible authoritative sources support the identification and bite-safety context on this page.

• World Spider Catalog: Asianopis subrufa
• Australian Museum: Rufous net-casting spider
• Australian Museum: Net-casting spiders
• Australian Faunal Directory: Asianopis subrufa
• Lucid Central: Deinopidae identification key
• Australian Museum: net-casting spider natural-history article
• Field of Mars: net-casting spider fact sheet
• Atlas of Living Australia: Asianopis subrufa
• Wikimedia Commons: exact Asianopis subrufa photograph
• Wikimedia Commons: second exact Asianopis subrufa photograph
• Wikimedia Commons: third exact Asianopis subrufa photograph
• healthdirect: Spider bites

Profile review

Published by Spider Identifier Australia. Last factual review: 13 August 2026.