By Matt Stone
LIANE and I were luxuriating in the pool one evening, sharing a wine and some canapes (as one does) when she said how clever spiders are. Given she has an absolute phobia toward spiders, big and small, I was somewhat surprised with her apparent fascination.
As I couldn’t see what she was talking about, she described how there was a beautiful web stretching between the pool fence uprights, and in the middle was a curled leaf. We reflected that not all webs had leaves in them, let alone nicely curled ones.
LIANE and I were luxuriating in the pool one evening, sharing a wine and some canapes (as one does) when she said how clever spiders are. Given she has an absolute phobia toward spiders, big and small, I was somewhat surprised with her apparent fascination.
As I couldn’t see what she was talking about, she described how there was a beautiful web stretching between the pool fence uprights, and in the middle was a curled leaf. We reflected that not all webs had leaves in them, let alone nicely curled ones.
Having just swept lots of dead gum leaves from around the pool, I didn’t remember any being curled – flat as the proverbial night carters’ hat, as they say. We left it at that and moved onto other equally critical world events currently in the forefront of our minds.
The next morning, having finished catching the (all bad) news, I remembered our little mate in the web and decided to try to answer our little puzzle. It turns out that he/she is known as a “leaf curling” spider (Phonognatha graeffei, a member of the orb-weaving family) and they are even more clever than we originally thought. They initially spin their web, then, like a true connoisseur, select a suitable leaf (not too brittle, not too green) from the ground and use a silk thread to raise it into their web. They fix it into the web, usually near the centre, and using their legs wrap it with more silk to make the leaf curl – a protective cylinder that acts as a secure, camouflaged retreat from predators. Young spiders that lack the strength to curl a dry leaf will use greener leaves and move onto the preferred dry habitat as they grow.
These guys are common to all areas of Australia and if they can’t find a suitable leaf they will use a small shell or piece of paper.
The other clever thing about their little hideaway is they rest in there with their front legs touching the web, so when prey hits the web, they feel the vibrations and nip out for a quick snack of the juices of whatever fell into their web. They will eat anything – even prey larger than themselves as they have pinchers, are venomous and use this skill set on larger prey.
They are not dangerous to humans – if you are bitten it will cause a small localised pain. However they are not inclined to bite us unless we really annoy them. A nice quote I came across in research was “to just leaf them alone”.
Apparently, unusual from most other spider varieties, the leaf curling spiders form pairs (male and female) and share their home. The male moves in with the female when she is quite young (so she builds the first home) and mates when she has matured. The danger of being a male and moving in is that the female will often eat the male, even if there is plenty of food – a nasty way to evict with no notice!
Having cleaned house, and fertilised, she will build another nest away from the home, which acts as a nursery and where she will lay her eggs.
The incredible leaf curling spider!
These guys are common to all areas of Australia and if they can’t find a suitable leaf they will use a small shell or piece of paper.
The other clever thing about their little hideaway is they rest in there with their front legs touching the web, so when prey hits the web, they feel the vibrations and nip out for a quick snack of the juices of whatever fell into their web. They will eat anything – even prey larger than themselves as they have pinchers, are venomous and use this skill set on larger prey.
They are not dangerous to humans – if you are bitten it will cause a small localised pain. However they are not inclined to bite us unless we really annoy them. A nice quote I came across in research was “to just leaf them alone”.
Apparently, unusual from most other spider varieties, the leaf curling spiders form pairs (male and female) and share their home. The male moves in with the female when she is quite young (so she builds the first home) and mates when she has matured. The danger of being a male and moving in is that the female will often eat the male, even if there is plenty of food – a nasty way to evict with no notice!
Having cleaned house, and fertilised, she will build another nest away from the home, which acts as a nursery and where she will lay her eggs.
The incredible leaf curling spider!