What is this woman doing – Walking along with a stick held aloft? 🙂
Water divining?
… Water divining?
Nope ~
Just out for a leisurely evening stroll in the bush 😀
But it can be spoilt when unknowingly one walks into one of these!
Spider across the path 😉
Spiders in Australia
A spider draped across my path waiting for dinner to drop in!
Spider waiting for dinner
While not venomous – at 4 to 6 cm across its not really the type you want running uninvited up your arm!
Spider’s web between the trees
Yet making their webs in the space across the path from bush to bush ~
If not paying attention its easy to pick up a hitch hiker!
Spider on his web
So, back to ‘spider divining’!
When spotted in time, I’ll duck so as to leave the web unscathed and intact ~
But there’s just nothing worse than having an unexpected face to face encounter! Hence the safety precaution of ‘spider divining with a stick 😉
Spider camouflaged as a leaf
These little chaps are a bit shier –
Camouflaged in a curled up leaf they lay in wait in bushes along the sides of the track ~
Looking down into the curled up leaf
Obviously after smaller prey!
😉
Jottings from this adventure –
The Where/When/How ~ What did I See, Hear, Smell, Touch, Taste?
- Stradbroke Island, Queensland – on an evening walk
- SEE ~ spindly spidery scampering yellow and brown legs atop bulbous bodies
- HEAR ~ scrunching dead leaves & twigs underfoot and the snapping of surprisingly strong web strands across the path
- SMELL ~ honey myrtle & the anticipation of an unwanted and unexpected encounter
- TOUCH ~ sticky pieces of web stuck in my hair & down my arms
- TASTE ~ the dry eucalypt bushland
Linda, you’ve posted some great photos there of your wildlife friends.
My money is on the Golden silk orb-weaver or more commonly known as Golden Orb-weaver [Nephila plumipes] for the first set of photos. Wikipedia says there’s 27 species in the Nephila family. I’d say yours is the N. Plumipes.
The last two photos look to be of the Leaf Curling Spider – Phonognatha graeffei [Family Nephilidae]
Some excellent photos and infos on both those spiders can be found at the BrisbaneInsects.Com pages of:
Golden Orb-Weaver 1 – Nephila plumipes
http://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_weavers/Golden_OW.htm
Leaf Curling Spider – Phonognatha graeffei
http://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_weavers/LeafCurlingSpiders.htm
Cheers 🙂
Ew, those things are everywhere! There are some nasty spiders in this country.
Fantastic links John ~
Yes, the Golden Orb Weaver I’m sure it is!
At least these are totally harmless Brooke!!
Its just the thought of them scuttling up your arm or across your face if you walk unwittingly into those webs, which as that link says are usually between 1 and 3 meters off the ground ~ Perfect human snaring height 😉
Hi Linda. I used to get webs and sometimes spiders all over me when riding down vineyard rows. Quickly fitted a long flagpole to the front of the quad bike to break the web! Good to see spiders, as it means no pesticides have been used:)
Hi Terry 🙂
Love the idea of that image of a quad bike with a flag pole figure head bombing down the vineyard rows LOL
And as you say – How fabulous that they’re there alive and flourishing – A perfect world!
So glad you don’t kill them, I’m devastated when people kill spiders, scary as they appear but yes she’s a golden orb weaving spider, very very strong web (can catch birds). She is harmless and would most likely scurry away than bite you which is not that easy anyway considering we’re so big!
I do the same thing in summer, just get a stick and move the web somewhere else, I get a similar orb weaver (garden) big and fat in my backyard, nothing worse than wondering where the heck the spider is if I have web all over my head!
Lovely post!
Lise :^)
Your comment about “where the heck the spider is if I have web all over my head!” is precisely how I feel LOL But despite the dread of that feeling, I certainly could never dispose of them… hence removing them gently out of my way 🙂
Great photos too and glad that you can share your travels with all creatures big & scary, it gives me faith in humans, as sometimes I feel like I prefer animals when I see the way some humans treat animals. Funny thing is I think us gals are less scared of spidies that men are, unless they are the bug loving variety, scientific types!