Saturday, March 5, 2011

I have finally found the culprit.....

....who has been making a bigger mess of my outdoor undercover area than I do!! So many spider webs, that just keep coming back no matter how often I remove them. But after seeing this magnificent creature up close, I couldn't bear to destroy this industrious spider....



After some research on the internet, I found that he is a Net-casting Spider or Deinopis subrufa.



This intriguing spider sets its trap at night. The rectangular white net is spread between first two pairs of legs....



The third pair of legs has threads to stabilise the "net".



The fourth pair of legs are used to hang onto its support. When a passing insect comes near the net it splats it over the victim, and tangles it in the trap.



These photos were taken in the morning and I think the spider may have been asleep, so the net in these photos isn't as taut as when it is actually hunting.
Pretty awesome though, none-the-less!

2 comments:

  1. Wow! I absolutely hate spiders, but they really are fascinating creatures...

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