Spider photo of the day:

Ok, this was actually for work twitter and you're going to have to click on the thumbnail to see what's going on, but this spider's too cool not to mention here.

Grass Spiders (Agelenopsis sp.) are funnel weavers. What this means is that instead of spinning the stereotypical sticky orb web, these things spin a web that at first glance just looks like a flat sheet. A better glance, though, will show you that the sheet actually curves down into a funnel shape. At the bottom of the funnel, the spider waits for vibrations on the web that will tell it that a prey animal has landed. Then the spider comes out of its hidey hole, grabs the insect (or other spider), and takes it back down the funnel to finish it off.

Pretty damned neat.



Is too.

The spider looks roughly like this (note the long spinnerets typical of the genus) and, even though you may be completely freaked out by it (and if you are, why are you on this blog?) it's considered harmless to humans.

Its Australian cousins, though, can sometimes be deadly. Apparently.

Sometimes I think that everything in Australia is at least somewhat deadly. That's certainly the press we get here, at any rate.

Anyway, look for the webs in the morning dew if you're out for a stroll, especially this time of year. Then look for the hiding spider. It's fun.



Is too.