Community Nest Spiders

Adult spiders of most species are solitary and devote the greater part of their lives to catching prey, which can include prospective mates. Should the opportunity arise, they tend to eat mates, brothers, sisters, parents and young, leaving a single, fat, well-fed individual!
  Not all spiders are anti-social, though. Community nest spiders, in the genus Stegodyphus, such as Stegodyphus dumicola, are our only truly social spiders in South Africa. They live in communities, co-operating in prey capture and brood care. When a large insect lands in the web, it invites a heaving scrum of spiders, which eventually overpowers most insects. The nest - consisting of strong, hard, cardboard-like silk - starts off small but is enlarged as the colony grows. It has numerous holes and passageways. Large colonies can cover an entire tree in silk.
  For more info about the fascinating world of spiders, go to www.spiderclub.co.za, or buy Astri and John Leroy's book: Spiders of Southern Africa. To download a poster about the spiders on Meadowridge Common, click here.
Text: Helen Duigan and Astri Leroy

According to Astri Leroy, having this colony on the Common is really lucky as it is difficult to find them anywhere on the Cape Peninsula because Argentine ants are thought to have more or less wiped them out in greater Cape Town.

Photos: Caroline Voget. Meadowridge Common, August 2014.

Banded Garden Orb-web Spider

Banded Garden Orb-web Spider (Argiope trifasciata).

This beautiful spider belongs to the Araneidae family of spiders. Argiope is one of the most familiar genera of orb-web spiders. Being diurnal, garden spiders are colourfully marked, the carapace silver and the legs banded. The aposematic (warning) yellow and black colouration of the abdomen remind birds that they are unpalatable. The Argiope web normally has two zig-zag bands of silk radiating outwards from the hub (centre) to the bottom corners of the web. There may be four of these bands in some species while some juveniles may construct a spiral. These are called “stabilimenta” and serve various functions: they stabilize and strengthen the web, make the web visible perhaps serving as a decoy for birds, or also to reflect ultraviolet light thereby deceiving and attracting insects.
Text: Norman Larsen. 
To download an A3 sized poster on the spiders of Meadowridge Common, click here.