The amazing net-casting spiders
These spiders are called net-casting spiders because of their remarkable way of catching 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).
Seen up close, it’s easy to understand why Deinopis spiders are sometimes called ‘Ogre-faced spiders’
If you live in Sydney there’s a good chance you’ve seen plenty of these spiders. You might just not have realised it! These spiders have excellent camouflage that enables them to resemble scraps of dead twigs and leaves. Without doubt, these spiders are some of my favourites and I always get a kick out of finding one, especially since they can reach a reasonable size.
A Deinopis spider photographed in the inner-eastern suburbs of Sydney, and a close-up detail of the same spider. Before you examine these spiders up close you could easily mistake them for twigs
This Deinopis is coloured almost exactly the same as the dead leaf beside it
Casting their nets
The net which Deinopis 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. It lunges over the critter and wraps the sticky net over it. The prey is quickly overwhelmed. I’ll point out that these spiders 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.
Here’s a photo showing a Deinopis with its net.
… and another shot with a net. With its biggest eyes aimed straight down this Deinopis is ready and waiting for the approach of its prey
The picture at right shows a Deinopis with its egg sac. This photo was taken in the middle of winter, representing a nice picture subject at a time of the year when there are not a lot of small critters around
Of course I just had to take a close-up shot of the egg sac. I look out for these now I know what they look like. The egg sacs, like the spiders, are nicely camouflaged.
The following summer, a small hole appeared in the egg sac. The adult spider had long since disappeared
One big happy family: After leaving the egg sac, the spiderlings cluster together some place nearby. This entire cluster is about an inch and a half long, which should give you an idea of how tiny the spiderlings are
Here’s a close-up shot of the spiderlings. Note the distinctive Deinopis pose with the front legs kept together. They will hold that pose until something disturbs them. In my case that’s often the front of my camera lens bumping a nearby web that sends them into a panic
Moving in closer. These spiderlings are only 3 or 4 millimetres across their leg span. So if you find this many spiders disturbing then I’m confident you’d be able to outrun them
Bringing the camera around a little reveals that this guy, despite only being out of the egg sac a few days, is already on its way to having a nice ogre face like its mum
