The weather has been a bit rainy lately so we couldn’t go for a swim in the bay. There’s just too much stuff floating down creek, if you know what I mean ; ) So, short of something to do this afternoon, we popped out in the garden and dug about for some jumping spiders. Have you seen any jumping spiders lately? If not, perhaps go out and take a look around.
Until Carla Bond started pointing them out to me I was, to be honest, a bit oblivious to these ‘teddy bears of the spider world’. They were like arachnid background noise. If you’re a regular reader of this blog you’ll know I have a huge appreciation of spiders as they are remarkable ecosystem builders. But this afternoon I scurried on my hands and knees among tangles of fallen branches and leaves, and a few more things fell into place around our relationship to these ‘mini-megafauna.’
But before that, an acknowledgement. I don’t have the camera for spider photos, so I relied on Carla’s deftness with the Olypmus TG6 to build a small portfolio for you (below). One of our targets was a Peacock Spider. These famous little dancers have been all over the internet since their flamboyant behaviour was first reported a few years back.
Peacock Spiders
Before 2011 there were only seven named species. Here is an article by the Australian Museum which describes the ‘decade of the peacock spider’ from 2010, when over 70 new species were described (download the PDF by clicking on the image). ‘Of those, Sydney-based Jürgen Otto and his U.S. collaborator David Hill have described 47 species. Jürgen is also the man behind both the YouTube clip with 7.9 million views and that with the Bee Gees backing.’
Finding Peacock Spiders in your back yard
I have a small bush block behind my house. It’s quite nice with plenty of native vegetation. When I found out Peacock Spiders like fallen leaf litter and sticks, I thought I could recall just the place. I headed over on a warm afternoon a few weeks back and within 30 seconds … found one!
These spiders are tiny! No bigger than a pencil tip. I stand at a suitable-looking spot staring straight down and look for movement. Jumping spiders move jerkily and quite unlike the ants, flies and other spiders standing around. In this case, a spot of red colour was also a giveaway.
They are mainly active during spring. It’s both humid and warm (but not too warm). Today we returned on a balmy morning with passing storm showers and periods of sunshine. It was 17 degrees with an occasional chill wind. It took about ten minutes to find a spider in the same spot but it hid under a stick while the wind abated. Once the sun came out it hopped off. My feeling is that they warm up pretty fast. On the hottest days they’ll be underneath the leaf litter where they’re protected from predators.
We took a few photos (see below) but before heading off I checked another likely-looking spot. Sure enough, another one! Then to my greatest surprise we were walking back along a raised embankment in the rain and something caught my eye on a branch randomly fallen on an exposed gravel path. Another of the same species hopped off across the ground.
It’s fair to say they are more common than we think. The following images will give you an idea of how small they are.
How important are jumping spiders?
Jumping spiders make up 13% of all spiders. That’s good to know … the cute ones are the most common!
Outside my office window are four Camellia bushes and we counted four species, with at least two or three individuals on each tree. While we were there, there were numerous attempts (some successful) at catching and killing flies and mosquitos.
With all the wet and humid weather we’re having of late, mosquitos are becoming a problem in some places, even spreading diseases like Ross River Fever. I’ve written extensively about the role of wildlife in disease control. It’s likely to be no different where spiders are concerned – a loss of spiders from your garden is going to leave you more susceptible.
How can we protect our garden spiders?
One of the best ways is to avoid using any pesticides. In my review of Kristin Ohlen’s wonderful new book Sweet in Tooth and Claw I talk about her work revealing the impact of Roundup on invertebrate gut health. Yes, you read that right, insects and spiders have gut microbes like us. There is strong (I’d say almost damming) evidence that Roundup and similar pesticides, kill off the gut fauna of humans and invertebrates alike. This compromises our immune systems and makes us more susceptible to disease. It’s bad enough that it’s causing bee colonies to collapse all over the world.
So, the best thing you can do for the health of you and your garden (especially if you don’t want so many mosquitos) is to nurture spiders. But remember, you also need a balance of spiders too … so you need birds. It’s a matter of getting the balance right.
Watching animals in your garden is good for your health
I learnt a lot this weekend and mostly from just watching spiders. There really isn’t any other way to understand nature and our place in it than to watch animals in action. You don’t need to go to the African plains to see predators stalking their prey among vegetation. This is happening in your own backyard.
Watching jumping spiders is just another thing you can do as an excuse to realign your mind with the way the world works. It helps us rediscover more of our own animality and that’s good for us, good for wildlife and good for our planet.
