Giant orb weaver, Nephila maculata, New Guinea.
Entomologist and photographer Piotr Naskrecki calmly unreels the most startling tales of the natural world in his mind-boggling new book, “Relics.” We learn that sexual size dimorphism, where one of the sexes is much bigger than the other, is common, and that one of the most extreme examples of sexual size dimorphism can be seen here, in the giant orb weaver, Nephila maculata. This spider is common on New Guinea and neighboring islands. Dr. Naskrecki writes: “These huge spiders build webs made of silk of such strength that smaller birds can get entangled in them, and in some parts of their range fishermen use these webs to make light and durable fishing nets and traps.” Once the tiny male spider is ready to mate, he finds the web of an adult female, and waits for the right moment. He must be very careful to avoid being eaten by the object of his affections, as she is a voracious predator. If he is successful, he will spin a web on the female’s body to keep from being brushed off and then will move to the base of her abdomen to deliver the sperm.
High humidity and rainfall allows normally aquatic creatures to live on the mossy bottoms of New Guinea’s forest, including this small, pink amphipod crustacean.
Helmeted katydid, Saima sp., New Guinea.
An as yet unnamed spider, an example of a lichen mimic, West Africa.
By Rebecca Horne
Many more at the link. Also: lichen mimic!!
