Stone Nest Spider (E.Nemocolus)

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Cornucopia, environment, nature, Stone Nest Spider, Stone Nest Spider web

Stone Nest Spider web

Spiral Cornucopia

Egg sac and nursery

 

This spider is a new visitor to my garden. It has been fascinating watching the web evolve.

The Stone Nest Spider is web-bound and spins it’s webs near water in low base vegetation.

They are medium-sized spiders with an elliptical abdomen. It constructs webs up to 20 cm in diameter, most often horizontally. A retreat is always constructed, varying in shape from an inverted cone to a spiral shaped cornucopia. It is constructed of tough silken threads into which are woven grains of sand, vegetable debris and often shells of prey items. The retreat is secured above the hub of the web by tough silken threads which pull the center of the web upwards into a cone shape. This retreat is also used for the egg sac and a nursery for the spider-lings.

 

 

The “Huntsman”

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Animalia, Biology, Cape rain Spider, Cape Town, egg hatches, egg sac, endemic, environment, fearsome appearance, Flora and Fauna, garden creatures, Huntsman spider, Kosi Bay, leg span, longer legs, nest, spider, Spider wasp, tarantula spiders, The Huntsman, wasp

This spider is not for the faint hearted. It is the Huntsman or Cape Rain Spider. “They are among the biggest non-tarantula spiders in the world,”

They can have a leg-span of up to 7 cm and a head to abdomen measurement of about 3 cm. They are spread from Cape Town in the south to Kosi Bay in the north and appear to like bushed areas with grass and gardens. They like to live among leaves and take two to three years to grow to adults, with the female fatter than the male, who is brighter with longer legs.The size of these spiders, combined with the yellow and black banding on the underside of the legs exposed when the spider is in threat pose, give them a fearsome appearance.

In humans the bite is no more dangerous than a bee sting. It causes a burning sensation, and swelling which lasts for a few days. Recovery is spontaneous and complete.

The Huntsman  are also commonly seen paralysed, being dragged by a large wasp called a Pompilid wasp. Sometimes the wasp will not be present. Pompilid wasps only hunt spiders, which they paralyse by stinging them. They then drag the spider back to their nest where they lay an egg on the spider, then seal the spider and the egg in. When the egg hatches, the larva eats the paralysed spider, keeping the spider alive as long as possible by eating peripheral flesh first, and saving the vital organs till last. By doing this, the spider stays fresh long enough for the wasp larva to mature and pupate.

After mating in the early summer, the female constructs a round egg sac about 60–100 mm in size made of silk, with twigs and leaves woven into it. These egg sacs are commonly seen from about November to April. The female constructs the sac over 3–5 hours, then aggressively guards it until the spiderlings, who hatch inside the protective sac, chew their way out about three weeks later. Females will construct about three of these egg sacs over their two-year lives. Many gardeners are bitten by protective Palystes mothers during this period.

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Pictures of the spiderlings hatching

Golden Orb

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environment, garden, garden spiders, Golden Orb Spider, nature, orb web spider, south peninsula, web

Photo credit : Jane Taylor

My neighbor came out her back door to find that a Golden Orb spider had spun the most glorious web across the face of the door with delicate yet leathery glittering golden web.

The Scenic South  had this to say :

As recently as three years ago the gardens of friends and neighbours in the South Peninsula of Cape Town were suddenly host to a different garden spider with a truly impressive layered golden web.  The newcomer is the Golden Orb-web Spider (Nephila fenestra).  While they are indigenous to the Western Cape, until a few years ago Golden orb web spiders were only found east of the Overberg.  Apparently by the late 1990s, they had made their way to Sir Lowry’s Pass and are now fairly common throughout the South Peninsula.  They favour trees and tall shrubs but also use buildings to anchor their huge webs.  I find it amazing – almost a mystery – the way a creature the size of a spider can populate a new and vast area in a relatively short time.  What are the advantages for them?  It can’t be the proverbial Bright City Lights as they are most active in the day!!

The Golden Orb-web Spider (Nephila fenestra) is one of the three largest spiders occurring in our gardens in the South Peninsula of Cape Town.  While their large size may be off-putting, they are neither venomous nor aggressive.  The other two large spiders are the Garden Spider (Argiope australis) also an orb web spider and the Rain Spider (Palystes castaneus) which does not make a web but prefers to hunt on the run.  All these large garden spiders add interest to our urban habitat, and `pay’ their way by catching a variety of insects, many of which gardeners consider to be pests.

Related article : Golden Orb Spider