Some months ago I wrote about the Pompilid wasp that paralyses the Huntsman or Rain spider (Palystes) for its larvae to feed on, well this is another interesting observation of that same spider.
Have you ever seen these bundles of silk covered leaves and wondered who they belong to and how they’re constructed? The female spider painstakingly collects leaves on the ground and carries them up to her chosen site and using her silk she spins them altogether one leaf at a time and lays hundreds of eggs protected in the centre. Some spiders stay with the nest seeming to protect it but once the spiderlings hatch and chew their way through the silk it’s every spiders for itself!
My friend Sally walked into her office one day and noticed a square of note paper high up in the corner of the room. On closer inspection she discovered that it was attached by silk and looked to be the beginnings of a nest. The spider had ‘carried’ it over the desk, down onto the floor and then up the wall. That is quite some feat for a spider but very resourceful…’n boer maak ‘n plan!
