The spider of the month is this mushroom theridiid (Phoroncidia sp., possibly P. capensis, family Theridiidae), taken by Bruce Blake in his garden in Amanzimtoti, KZN, Bruce has photographed a few of these very small spiders (about 2-3 mm in body length) in his garden and at various other spots along the East Coast (see compilation in … Read more

The spider of the month is this tree velvet spider (Gandanameno sp.; family Eresidae), taken by Hannes Claassens in Witbank/eMalahleni.There are only five species in this genus, and they are only found in Southern Africa, specifically South Africa, Namibia, and Malawi. They are often found on and under tree bark, where they spin their sheet-like … Read more

The spider of the month is this lady beetle orb weaver (Paraplectana sp.) in the family Araneidae. Leonie Kellermann photographed this spider in a garden in Pietersburg during a course on macro photography. She used a point-and-shoot camera, but she hopes to soon purchase a DSLR camera with a macro lens. Other than that they … Read more