If you live in Sydney there's
a good chance you live pretty close to one of these amazing
spiders. But thanks to their camouflage there's also a good
chance you've never seen one. Without doubt, these spiders
are some of my
favourites and
I
always get a kick out of finding
one. (Arachnophobes should
not take me literally here. While some spiders may bite
I’ve never met one that
will kick you).
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This Dinopis spider's
body markings match the dead leaf almost perfectly
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Casting their nets
The net which Dinopis makes is specially
constructed so that it can be stretched. The spider hangs
face-down over some
place that some insects might walk, and it holds the net
ready with its front legs. It then patiently waits for
a critter to walk underneath it. Once something wanders
within range the whole net-cast-catch thing is over in
less than a second. I'll point out that they tend to do this
hanging-with-a-net thing more often at night, so in the daytime
you're more likely to just see them hanging motionless, without
their net, looking more like
a bunch
of twigs.
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A Dinopis
spider with its net, waiting
for something to wander within reach
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From this angle it's
possible to see the large pair of eyes which Dinopis
spiders use to watch out for approaching prey.
This angle also gives a hint about why these spiders
are sometimes called 'ogre-faced spiders'
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A Dinopis
spider with its egg
sac
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Close-up shot of the egg sac
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Imagine throwing a tea-towel over
a bird and you've got a good idea of Dinopis's technique
with its net.
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Of course,
if you’ve
ever tried to catch a bird by throwing a tea towel
over it (which
I have) then you'll realise tea towels fall really
slowly and birds fly away really quickly. But as
usual I'm getting way off the point. Dinopis moves
fast. It stretches its net out and
lunges it over the critter. It doesn't really throw
the net because
it's holding onto it all the time. Any critter caught
this way doesn't stand much chance of getting away.
Are they dangerous?
No, these spiders are not considered dangerous. Cute and amazing perhaps, but
not dangerous. |
Photo library
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