Arachnologist Joseph Schubert is one of a handful of scientists who have spent days in Australia’s alpine region searching for new spiders.

It’s not an easy job, but Schubert, from the Museums Victoria Research Institute, and his team have discovered three new spiders, including one that looks like a liquorice allsorts lolly.

The other two are a warrior huntsman with a shield on its chest and a wraparound spider that impersonates a tree branch. But Schubert said the team still wants to find more before the Alps Bush Blitz expedition comes to an end.

“Most people associate spiders with the outback dunny door, but spiders are hugely diverse, from the infamous shield huntsman with war paint on his legs and a shield on his chest to frighten off predators, to the tiny jumping spiders that look like eight-eyed puppies,” he said.

“Spiders are also experts at camouflage. The wraparound spider is a ferocious nocturnal mini-hunter that impersonates a tree branch during the day to hide from predators.”

The Alps Bush Blitz expedition boasts 15 scientists including botanists and zoologists from Parks Australia’s National Seed Bank in Canberra, the Australian Museum, the Museums Victoria Research Institute, the National Herbaria of NSW and Victoria and the University of New South Wales.

The blitz is a partnership between the Australian government through Parks Australia, BHP and Earthwatch Australia.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said there was still a lot of biodiversity that had not yet been discovered yet.