20-Aug-2020 Theme: 'Redbacks'

(1) Approximately how many Australians are bitten by redbacks every year? (a) 20 (b) 200 (c) 2,000 (d) 20,000 (bonus: approximately how many people die each year from redback bites).

Answer: (c) 2,000 (bonus: approximately zero).

(2) The Redbacks is the official nickname of what sporting team?

Answer: South Australian Men’s Cricket

(3) What close relative of the redback – whose name translates in English as ‘night stinger’ – is an endangered native species in New Zealand?

Answer: Katipo (Latrodectus katipo).

(4) What aspect of redback’s cannibalistic mating behaviour has made the species internationally famous amongst behavioural ecologists?

Answer: During mating, the male redback often actively helps the female to consume him, twisting his body around so that his abdomen is presented to the female’s fangs.

(5) In what decade was Slim Newton’s song ‘Redback on the Toilet Seat’ released in Australia? (bonus: in what year did it reach number 3 on the National Top 40 Singles Chart).

Answer: The 70s (bonus: 1972).

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