Ja paisteessa siell' auringon
Out came the sunshine
Kuuma ja tyyni aamu. Takapihalla vihanneksia kastellessa silmä osui minttupensaassa suuria verkkoja kutoviin kauniisiin hämähäkkeihin. Nämä lukit ovat saaneet englanninkieliseksi nimekseen Pyhän Andrewin risti, ei kuitenkaan kuvioidun takaruumiinsa vuoksi, vaan siksi, että niillä on mielenkiintoinen tapa kutoa verkon keskelle siksakilla valkoinen ruksi.
Ylempi hämähäkki ei vielä ole ehtinyt ristiin asti, naapurilla (alakuva, vatsapuolelta) ristin sakara on jo näkyvissä. Klikkaa yläkuvaa isommaksi niin näet kauniit oranssit ja vihreät kuviot hämähäkin ruumiissa. Väritys näyttää vaihtelevan todella paljon yksilöstä toiseen. Ilmeisesti kuitenkin Argiope keyserlingi.
Katsoin pari viikkoa sitten tv-ohjelmaa, jossa aboriginaalipojille oli annettu koulutehtäväksi kartoittaa pari neliötä sademetsän pohjamaata ja kerätä hämähäkit talteen. Pojat löysivät parikymmentä kokonaan tuntematonta lajia (tämä oli ollut tehtävänannon takana, uusia lajeja löytyy jatkuvasti) ja taisivatpa saada jokusen niistä nimettyäkin omiin nimiinsä.
Osa australialaisista hämähäkeistä on varsin pahamaineisia myrkyllisyytensä vuoksi. Kompostinpaikkaa tasoittava Jyrki löysi meidän pihaltamme tähän asti ainoan tunneliverkkohämähäkin. Muuten olemme onneksi saaneet tyytyä vähemmän aggressiivisiin ja vain jonkin verran myrkyllisiin otuksiin. Hyvät hämähäkkifaktasivut löytyvät tästä osoitteesta aiheesta kiinnostuneille. Takapihan hämähäkkejä valokuvina mm. tällä sivulla.
A hot, dry morning. I was filling the watering can by the tap on the backyard when I realised I was surrounded by the most beautiful examples of St. Andrew's Cross spiders. Click the upper photo to see better the orange and green patterns in the spider's body.
The lower photograph shows the beginnings of the silky, zigzag cross that the spider spins as part of its web. This spider is seen from below.
I find it a bit confusing that the patterns on the bodies of the Argiope keyserlingi spiders seem to vary a lot. But I guess the cross is a good way to identify them?
A few weeks ago SBS (I think) showed a program about a group of Aboriginal boys that had been given a school assignment to collect and identify all the spiders they could find in a marked area in a nearby rainforest, somewhere in NT, I think. They found several dozens of previously unknown species!
I did not know that we have funnel-webs in Robertson, until Jyrki was digging up some old compost posts and unearthed a particularly ugly, glossy, black (dead) spider. I am still hoping we were mistaken, but it really did look like one. And Steve next door claims he has seen some, too. (One time when I went over to rent a video, he had a wolf spider as a pet.) Have you, Denis?
Spider information suitable for kids and beginners can be found on the Australian Museum website. There are also fact sheets for various species, as well as further links.
Comments - Kommentit
DATE: 1:29 PM
Hi Anni. Mmmm "Funnel-webs" in Robertson? It is highly likely, but I have not seen one myself. There definitely is a species of Funnel Web in Bowral (but that area has different soil and different trees). Wolf Spiders are common here, and live in burrows (unlined). "Trapdoor Spiders" are common in the sandstone bush, (less so on our red basalt soils, it seems). These look big, black and scary.So, the bottom line is that most people in Robertson will tell you that there are "funnel-webs" here in Robertson, but it may not actually be the dangerous spider people think it is. Most people ask no questions with a very large black spider.More info "off-line". I have a book you may consult.
Posted by: Denis Wilson | February 23, 2006 06:17 PM
DATE: 2:29 PM
Yes, I stay clear of the big, black ones. The big brown ones (Wolf Spider & Huntsman) I actually like to see around. Huntsmen always make me a bit hysterical (they are too big), the wolf spiders are beautiful with their brown, patterned bodies.A
Posted by: ah | February 23, 2006 06:17 PM
DATE: 3:59 PM
Nice photo of the St Andrew's Cross Spider, by the way.Have you seen any of the little "Jewel Spiders"? They are very ornamental, almost hexagonal-shaped, dotted with yellow and orange, and they have little spines around the abdomen.
Posted by: Denis Wilson | February 23, 2006 06:17 PM
DATE: 3:12 AM
Your spiders give us the horrors but no more so than the field rats we have had to contend with in our garden recently. We had to dispense with all bird food on the bird table, as the rats were able to clinb up and swing on the feeders. The largest rats were as big as a man's size shoe! We have restored the birds' food since the neighbours put down poisoned bait in their garden sheds. Just in time for the big freeze or the birds would have been suffering.
Posted by: Marford | February 23, 2006 06:17 PM
DATE: 11:45 AM
Marjorie, I hope you have got rid of the rats. Sounds absolutely horrible - I'd prefer a herd of gigantic spiders any time. Maybe not funnel-webs, though! Poor birds!Thanks Denis, I thought it was quite nice. I haven't seen the jewel spiders. They look fabulous in the book.
Posted by: ah | February 23, 2006 06:17 PM