We recently had the priviledge of hosting the Spider Club of Southern Africa on our property, and what a wonderful evening it was. Over 30 members of the club were present, with the goal of catching and identifying as many spider species as possible. The event took place over four hours, from late afternoon to early evening, and considering it was almost winter the club still managed to identify a significant number of species (full list to be published later). The event clearly showed the diversity of creatures that the grassland biome can support.
Our thanks go to the members of the club who made it such a special occasion, as well as the photographers for their incredible photos. For anyone interested in hosting a Spider Club evening, contact the Spider Club via their website https://www.spiderclub.co.za/
For more photos, visit Jarrod Todd's instagram and Facebook pages here:
Instagram: Jarrod's macrophotography
Facebook: Jarrod's macrophotography
Here are some of the highlights from the evening:
Pycnocantha sp. - Hedgehog spider
Peucetia transvaalica - Green lynx spider
Neoscona moreli - Grass hairy field spider
Stegodyphus tentoriicola - Pale velvet spider
Latrodectus renivulvatus - Inland black button spider
Euprosthenops sp. - Large funnel-web nursery-web spider
Hogna sp. - Sub-adult burrowing wolf spider
Xysticus sp. - Male ground crab spider
Scytodes sp. - Spitting spider
Enoplognatha molesta - Long-jawed comb-footed spider
Copuetta sp. - Decorated dark sac spider
Baryphas ahenus - Jumping spider
Argiope trifasciata - Banded garden orb weaver
Natta sp. - Jumping spider