spider web | Mount Gravatt Environment Group

By: Michael Fox

Wolf Spider web

I think I have solved the puzzle of the strange muslin like spider webs on the ground last week.

Julie-Anne suggested wolf spiders so I have been searching for these fearsome hunters among the leaf litter.

Dark Wolf Spider

I found this this Dark Wolf Spider Lycosa obscuroides morning. These spiders look fearsome but they are small with a body length of approximately 10mm so they would fit the hole in the web I photographed.

Fearsome features – eight eyes

Wolf spiders hunt among the leaf litter for crickets and lizards. They have also been reported as feeding on Cane Toads. I assume it is the larger species that hunt Cane Toads however it is certainly nice to think some Australian species are fighting back.

Wolf spiders have a distinctive pattern of eight eyes with one row of four small eyes at the front with two large eyes above and another two large mounted on the side of its head.

Female Dark Wolf Spider with egg sac

Another interesting characteristic of wolf spiders is the females carrying their egg sac with them. Once the eggs hatch she carries her young on her back. I photographed this female in 2008 and I had forgotten how small these fearsome creatures are.

Tent spider webs covered in morning dew Photo: J. Fox

By: Michael Fox

I have spent thousands of hours walking and working in Mt Gravatt Conservation Reserve and I am still seeing things I have never noticed before. The misty mornings air this morning showed dozens of small tent spider webs in communities in the shrubs. The moisture on the webs this morning made for great photography. When I just checked this afternoon these webs are all but invisible.

Dome Tent Spider web Photo: J. Fox

I could not find any spiders to photograph however these webs are almost certainly made by Dome Tent Spiders Cyrtophora moluccensis which I have found in the Reserve. This larger web shows the amazing structure with a collection of something, possibly eggs, at the peak.

Dome Tent Spider - close - 29 March 2014

Close up of Tent Spider Web Photo: J. Fox

A close up photo shows the neat matrix of thread and the tension cables holding the shape just like a circus bigtop.

Dome Tent Spider – Photo: M. Fox

Dome Tent Spider I photographed at Mt Gravatt Campus in 2010.

Garden Orb Weaver web Photo: J. Fox

We also found this huge beautifully made web, of the Garden Orb Weaver Eriophora transmarina, stretched out between two trees. Another Garden Orb web had stretched right across the track earlier in the week but without the dew droplets it was virtually invisible and didn’t survive as I walked straight into it.

Garden Orb Weaver Photo: M.Fox

Garden Orb Weaver females build these huge webs as night and usually consume them again in the morning before hiding in a retreat of leaves and twigs. So it was a bit of a surprise to not only find the web still in place this afternoon but also find the owner sitting in the centre. The web had also caught dozens of flying ants during the day.

Mysterious web on ground Photo: M. Fox

Another first for me is finding a large number of these webs on the ground which must be there everyday but only noticeable with the heavy dew. These webs are very fine with multiple layers which makes them look like very fine muslin fabric.