Our June spider of the month is this undetermined (possibly undescribed) velvet spider (family Eresidae), taken by Megean Daniel on a farm near Postmasburg in the Northern Cape. This is most likely either Paradonea sp. or one of the solitary Stegodyphus spp. The jury is still out on that one. Many of us were first … Read more

Our May spider of the month is this beetle jumping spider (Pachyballus sp.; Salticidae) taken by Bruce Blake in Amanzimtoti, KZN. The spider is feeding on a booklouse (Psocidae). There are nine recorded species, of which three occur in South Africa. The name basically means “thick ballus”, from the Greek pachys (think “pachyderm”, i.e. elephants, rhinos, hippos, etc., … Read more

The spider of the month is this common bark spider (Caerostris sexcuspidata) in the orb weaver family (Araneidae), taken by Daniel Lee Owen Rautenbach in Headlands, Zimbabwe. They are also called horned bark spiders, due to them often sporting one, two, three, or more “horns” on the abdomen, or sometimes a complex system of protrusions … Read more