The spiders hide in their leaves with only their legs protruding - waiting to feel something on their web. They bind the leaf up with silken thread so that they are safe from predators. This article by the Australian Museum tells you all about the Leaf-Curling spider.
We know the spiders have been prolific this year and now it seems it is time for the Leaf- Curling spiders. These spiders live in their webs inside an old leaf that they have curled around into a small spider tunnel. They are everywhere in the garden.
So much rain this summer has promoted so much growth in the garden and the little creatures that live in it.
We disturbed this handsome specimen in the garden when we were planting our new roses. You can read more about them here.
We ate dinner outside tonight and when we looked into the garden there was a collection of spiders of various sizes very busily building their webs. We've had large Orb Weaver Spiders in the garden before so it is nice to see them back again. There are certainly enough mosquitoes to feed them all.
I tried to photograph the biggest one (around 2cm) but it wouldn't stop running around and making its web long enough to let me focus with my digital camera. It was a handsome specimen with stripey legs and under-body. The flash on the camera did catch this outline of the spider with the web attached to its spinneret and the half built web. I will look in the garden in the morning to see if it is still there and maybe try again in better light. Imagine my surprise when this unusual visitor crawled across my kitchen bench yesterday. I think she came in with the hydrangeas that I had picked, but at nearly 2cm she gave me quite a start as she scurried by.
After a little research on the internet I was able to identify her as a "Badge Huntsman". She gave me a clue when she crawled to top of the glass bowl and showed off the shield under her abdomen. Maybe she was trying to "frighten me away" You can read about the Badge Huntsman here (http://museumvictoria.com.au/spiders/detail.aspx?pid=0) |
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