All boats lift on a rising tide

….is a saying that is often used in economics. For example if the ASX200 has a good day most shares will be in positive territory. It could also be applied to the recent floods. The Yea Wetlands has been in full flood in recent weeks i.e. all wet and no land. Those who have been intrepid enough to don waders and wander out into the flood waters would have seen Swamp Wallabies happily skipping through the water to find the next log to perch on, wombats less than happily stranded on a stump waiting for the water to recede and arthropods aplenty trying to stay above the water level.

When the spectacle of a flooded wetland occurs, few think about what happens to all the spiders, insects, slaters and snails. My recent slosh through the flooded reserve revealed every reed and grass stem sticking above the water crowded with arthropods seemingly observing an uneasy truce. Fauna that would normally be sworn enemies were patiently sitting next to (even on) each other waiting for the water level to drop (pictured above).

Of note were the large numbers of medium sized black and red spiders, formally known a Red and Black Spiders (Nicodamidae family) that appeared, pictured above. This family of spiders is only found in Australia and Papua New Guinea. They are not often seen because they build sheet webs at ground level and as such are usually hidden in the vegetation.

But as the saying goes ‘All arthropods lift on a rising wetland’.