Tales from the woodpile #8

Winter is the season in which tales from the woodpile abound – who in their right mind would be rummaging through a woodpile in summer! This time the woodpile is not mine but Ken’s from Whanregarwen.

The ‘Huntsman-looking’ spider is a Ground or Flat Spider (Hemicloea sp.). They live in leaf litter (or woodpiles) and hunt at night. Eggs are laid in large circular white disc sacs and are guarded by the female spider until they hatch. Ground Spiders are carnivorous and eat insects and other arthropods which they run down and attack with their large fangs (those glossy black things in the photo). The venom is not dangerous to humans.

Like most species which have appeared in the woodpile series, these spiders are broad and flat so that they can access the cracks and crevices in wood. They are almost two-dimensional – much like some of the characters in the news these days.