For the identification of insects and other fauna and flora of South Africa.
Showing posts with label (Steatoda sp). Show all posts
Showing posts with label (Steatoda sp). Show all posts

Friday, June 26, 2009

Spider and egg - False Button Spider (Steatoda capensis)

I found this small spider at work and put it in a plastic film bottle to take home and photograph. When I opened it up, I discovered she had laid a large size egg inside.
I decided to let her loose outside and gently moved her and the egg onto the ground next to a tree.
No sooner was she out and tried to move her egg to a place of safety, when the ants came along and tried to take it away from her. I thought that she would chase them away.
Instead, she gave up and went to huddle against the tree leaving her eggs to the ants to carry away.