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Luminous light on a cloudy day in the Great Swamp, New Jersey. Shot with a Sony RX10m3. Processed with Photoshop and Nik software.
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The Nursery web spider is a common spider of grassland and scrub, and is often seen sunbathing among Brambles and Stinging Nettles. The adults are active hunters and do not spin a web to catch food, instead using a quick sprint to capture flies and other insects. The female carries her large, round egg-sac in her fangs. When the young are about to hatch, she builds a silk sheet among the vegetation to act as a tent, sheltering them until they are old enough to leave on their own.
Our Leptospermum “Fantasia” tree was one of the first plants we put into our garden, before we really knew anything about plants. As of July 2020, we stopped planting anything that was a cultivar, instead opting for endemic plants in their original forms (we were advised to do this by the Blue Mountains Bush Backyards scheme). This cultivar produces very pretty pink ruffle-like flowers…which also seem to be devoid of nectar. I have never seen a bird or bee feeding from the plant, and the few that stop by quickly depart. This often happens with cultivars. Our main objective was to plant food for bees and birds, so this has been disappointing, but the tree is well established and we’re loath to remove it.
One native insect species that has had a good time with it, though, is the Tea Tree Web Moth. Its caterpillars build communal abodes on Leptospermums and melaleucas. They are regarded as a pest for gardeners as the caterpillars leave dead branches, stripped of all leaves, as well as unsightly web-nests. We have largely left them alone, though, as the plant does little else for the insects!
A few weeks ago, I spied an assassin bug at the edge of the communal abode of the caterpillars (possibly Pristhesancus plagipennis). This individual has been waiting for prey to get in range, spearing and eating them. I have seen little grub corpses slung over the branches below. It has been there for about 5 weeks now. I think it has found a reliable buffet! [Lower Blue Mountains, NSW]