General News
6 July, 2024
Barry's Corner
Hard to believe that spiders might be useful, but they play a significant role in keeping insects in some sort of check.
There are many, many types, shapes and sizes.
Now is the time to watch for spiders in the garden and paddocks.
It is staggering to see frost in a paddock making the webs cast by spiders much more obvious - it stands out just how many are living there.
Fences are also a good place to look for frosty webs.
Some spiders dig holes and ambush an insect; some live in leaf litter around a tree, under bark and leaves, while others live on trunks and branches and are protected by peeling bark.
Some can flatten down and crawl into narrow cracks and under bark.
All of these species survive by catching prey in a web and some type of ambush.
The huntsman is commonly found in sheds and houses.
It can give you a start when you first spot one and can nip but is generally harmless.
It can easily be put into the garden to work outside.
There are a few spiders which can give painful bite - enough to make a visit to a doctor necessary.
These are usually black and hairy and should be avoided.
Webs are built during the night and take shape incredibly fast.
A web that survives the first day might be added to that night and if not noticed it can end up quite big.
Larger spiders eat smaller spiders, creating a circle of food sources.
Robins, honeyeaters, kookaburras, magpies, white-wing choughs, other birds and stumpytail lizards feast on most spiders, and these in turn can be grabbed by falcons and hawks in the tough world that is Biodiversity Land.
Spiders rarely make a nuisance of themselves in the outdoors unless you walk into a web of the golden orb spider, whose sticky trap takes a bit of time to escape.
Moths and insects are not so lucky.
Remember, if you see a spider there is no need to kill it off as it is more than useful.