Nature Stuff

Insects and spiders

Jumper Ant

Jumper Ants and Bulldog Ants

It’s hard to forget an encounter with these ants. Especially if they sting you. They are big, bold, aggressive and fast.

Stick insect

The world’s longest insect?

No 3D trickery, jokes or special effects here — this is for real. I found this remarkable critter, a mature female Titan Stick Insect (Acrophylla titan), in Dee Why (suburban Sydney, Australia) one summer night. These gentle and beautiful animals are leaf eaters. And, no they are NOT dangerous.

Praying Mantis

How many eyes do insects have?

Insects come in lots of shapes and sizes, and they have different numbers of eyes too.

spider eyes

How many eyes do spiders have?

There have been a lot of movies with giant spiders in them. One of the things that makes them look so creepy is all those eyes they have. But is that just something from the imagination of Hollywood?.

St Andrew's Cross Spider

Common Australian orb-weaving spiders

When people say they have a spider’s web in their garden and ask me to identify the owner, it almost always turns out to be one of these.

Golden Orb Weaver

Golden Orb Weaver spiders

At first glance, it seems like someone was being clumsy when they named a silver spider the Golden Orb Weaver. But that bit about the gold wasn’t refering to the spider. It was refering to the orb.

Deinopis spider

The amazing net-casting spiders

These spiders are called net-casting spiders because of how they catch their prey. Once you see one in action you’ll probably be as much of a fan of them as I am. Australia’s most common net-casting spiders are called Deinopis (formerly Dinopis).

Golden Orb Weaver

How long do spiders live?

It might not be something we think about much, but spiders don’t live forever. Here’s a rough guide to how long they can survive.

Huntsman Spider

Huntsman Spiders

Big, hairy and able to run quickly, these spiders are probably responsible for more shrieks and shudders among us humans than any other types of spider in Australia. Their habit of wandering indoors only increases the chances of that. Despite some Huntsman spiders being recorded as giving a painful bite, their fearsome reputation is unnecessary.

cartoon

Fear of Huntsman Spiders

I was developing quite a fear of Huntsman spiders. That’s a really common fear. I figured it wasn’t good to be so afraid. So here’s what I did to fix my own fear of these critters. But first of all, some other stuff that might help.

spider

Commensal spiders

I used to wonder what happened to the really little insects that get stuck in spider webs. I’m talking about the ones too small to satisfy or even be noticed by the spider. Well I found out for myself one day when I started noticing commensal spiders.

Jumping Spider

Jumping spiders

If you’re not able to get out to see a bit nature then don’t worry. It’s most likely a bit of nature will wander in to see you. And chances are that bit of nature will include a jumping spider.

spider diagram

What is a spider?

No seriously, how do you know that little beastie really is a spider? Most people think they know but when challenged they might struggle a bit. So here’s my attempt to say what a spider really is.

diagram

How I catch spiders

Most of you will already know about this method — it’s hardly rocket science. I’ve done it countless times, but I do NOT recommend it with dangerous types of spiders. Use a plastic container so it won’t shatter. Also, don’t try this if you have a phobia (irrational fear) of spiders.