The cat faced spider!

Discuss natural history subjects not strictly related to birds. Reports of interesting mammal, reptile, and invertebrate sightings are welcome.
flossiepip
Posts: 191
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 6:27 pm

The cat faced spider!

Postby flossiepip » Thu Oct 28, 2021 5:32 pm

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Bird dropping spider Celaenia sp. At night when this spider comes out to hunt hanging from its single line hunting for moths, if you get to see it from the back there always seems to be this very distinctive cat face. Must be some sort of defensive measure!
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David Riddell
Posts: 961
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2009 3:46 pm

Re: The cat faced spider!

Postby David Riddell » Fri Oct 29, 2021 8:27 am

Absolutely brilliant photos as always, flossiepip. I've seen these spiders a few times by day but had no idea this was how they caught their prey. Reading around, it seems they emit a chemical scent similar to that released by female moths (pheromones), so all the moths they catch are male!
https://australian.museum/learn/animals ... ng-spider/

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