Australasia is so "species rich" it's hard to know what to start with. In fact we have one of the biodiversity centres of the world. This section can look at particular species or groups which you have worked in the field or studio, and have come to know and appreciate. No-one, in my opinion, forms as close a relationship with a totally wild species as the naturalist-photographer doing an in depth photographic natural history. It is an experience worth sharing, and you will also have developed photographic skills and techniques you might like to share.

[cmmagsp] The Magnificent spider hunkers down.

But it is this spider's method of prey capture that really makes it interesting. It does not build a wheel web, but uses pheromones – prey attracting scents to lure moths. Each night, the female spider dangles a thread weighted with sticky globules and releases a scent into the air. These pheromones are similar to those produced by females of certain species of moths. Male moths are fooled into flying towards the magnificent spider, and as she whirls around the weighted thread, the moths are caught by the sticky globules and dragged in to be eaten.

Finding Her Magnificence

Technique

The spider is not at all aggressive, and can be gently handled. This particular one obligingly huddled on the leaf to have its photo taken. The shot of the spider was taken with a combination of ambient light and flash. I used a ring flash on the manual setting with a Rokkor 100mm macro and close up lens. The eggs were taken just with ambient light.

The spider and eggs were found almost 2 metres from the ground in a small (5m high) Blue or Forest Red Gum Eucalyptus tereticornis at Goodnight Scrub near Gin Gin, Queensland, Australia. According to Brunet (1996), the magnificent spider has adapted well to urban situations, so keep a lookout in your garden.

You may be lucky enough to observe one of the most beautiful and certainly fascinating spiders in Australia – the truly magnificent spider.

Reference: Brunet, Bert (1996) Spiderwatch: a guide to Australian spiders. Reed Books, Sydney

[cmmageggcs]
The distinctive egg cases of O. magnificus.