Jun 3, 2024
for a while there was a beautiful pair of Leaf-curling spiders living outside our door. as the name suggests, these spiders use a curled leaf in the centre of their web as a silk-lined retreat from predators. I've read that males and females will share a leaf, but these two were living in separate leaves close by each other.
the photo above is the female, feeding on a small beetle. the male is pictured below, with a much skinnier body plan, and a pair of long, rounded pedipalps.
Leaf-curling Spider, 2 individuals (Phonognatha graeffei), March '24.