Tales from the woodpile #6

Over the years our woodpile has proved to be a treasure-trove of invertebrates, which have been highlighted on this blog, and this year is no exception. Now I KNOW the first rule of blogging on this website is NO SPIDERS. But I am reminded of two proverbs: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and It is better to ask for forgiveness than permission – (see the last sentence).

While collecting wood from the woodpile yesterday I came across this creature which I think is absolutely beautiful – apologies to all the arachnophobes. It is a species of Huntsman spider known as a Badge Spider (Neoparassus diana). It is nocturnal, hunts other spiders among other things, and builds a silken home in leaves or under bark.

The name is derived from a striking black, cream and brown ‘badge’ marking on the underside of the abdomen. I glimpsed the badge and tried to photograph it but the spider was not inclined to display it a second time and I was not inclined to push the point.

If you (can) look closely, you’ll see this animal is an optometrist’s dream, as it has several pairs of eyes. Some are used for detecting motion and others are thought to detect light intensity and so are used for maintaining balance (and I suppose knowing when it’s bed-time).

For those who don’t find this beautiful … forgive me.