In grassland beside the road in the Orange district of central west New South Wales an eye-catching, bright species of peacock spider has been found.

While only three millimetres in size, the incy-wincy discovery has surprised and delighted locals and scientists who are now sharing it with the world.

And coincidentally, its colour matches the name of the regional city located just down the road.

Striking gold near Orange

Entomologist, Michael Duncan, has spent his career studying creepy crawlies. Peacock spiders are a breed unique to Australia, that have provoked interest for their courtship habits; the males 'dance' to attract the females. ( Supplied: Michael Duncan - Project Maratus )

He and some keen citizen scientists and photographers, who met online due to their shared interest in peacock spiders, formed Project Maratus, named after the spider genus.

Their latest discovery was made late last year just near the toilets at the Borenore Caves reserve, near Orange.

Using 'sweep nets', similar to butterfly nets, they located a dull-coloured but interesting looking female arachnid and started looking for a male to confirm they had come across a new species.

Soon one of the group struck gold, finding a brightly coloured male and exclaiming, "I got it here, it's orange!"

On that day they went on to discover more than two dozen specimens of the new species.

While the group has discovered new species of peacock spiders before, this is the first members have found in the NSW central west.

"It's massively exciting; it's exciting to share it with the community and the world," Mr Duncan said.

"The broader reaction has been fantastic, even people from all over the world are interested."

Mini birds of paradise

Peacock spiders are tiny (3-5mm) jumping spiders unique to Australia.

They have provoked interest over the past few years for their courtship habits; the males 'dance' to attract the females.

In 2005 there were eight recorded species of peacock spiders, but following efforts by scientists and groups such as Project Maratus, there are now around 60.

Like their namesake birds, female peacock spiders are dull in colour but their mates are vibrant.

The males of the new species are bright orange with tints of purple and big, blue fleshy bands up the back that Mr Duncan described as being almost like racing stripes.

"I call these peacock spiders mini birds of paradise," he said.

The back of the male of the new species of peacock spider, found near Orange, NSW. ( Supplied: Michael Duncan, Project Maratus )

Citizen scientists help with spider discovery

The orange peacock spider is the fourth discovery in 12 months for Project Maratus.

Group members live all over NSW and meet up in different locations to search and gather information on peacock spiders.

Mr Duncan said there had been a big increase in amateurs — or citizen scientists — looking for peacock spiders after people noticed them dancing.

For experts like Mr Duncan, searching for the spiders can involve seven or eight hour days bending over looking in grass and camping in swags in paddocks.

"You actually start to get blurred vision after four hours looking down at the ground," he said.

Orange's own orange inhabitant

Mr Duncan said the orange peacock spider's discovery was important to help understand the genus as a whole and its geographic spread.

"It's another link in these species and how they change over the Great Dividing Range," he said.

The new spider has been passed on to a taxonomist to be scientifically described and named.

Mr Duncan said it was exciting to be one of the first people to view a species and with Project Maratus members now starting to refine their searching techniques, he believed it would not be the last.

"There are definitely more unknown species in the central west," he said.