SPIDERS

FROM WOODFORDIA 3-5 MAY 2019

ROBERT WHYTE SPIDERS OF WOODFORDIA WOODFORDIA PLANTING FESTIVAL 3-5 MAY 2019

Planting Festival Introduction, materials, methods and results The Woodfordia Planting Festival in Spiders (order Araneae) have proven to be have evolved to utilise the terrestrial habitat Autumn every year is held on a property in highly rewarding in biodiversity studies1, niches where their food is found, some in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. being an important component in terres- quite specialist ways, becoming species, Woodfordia purchased the property in trial food webs, an indicator of insect meaning a population able and willing to 1994, to stage the annual Christmas, New diversity and abundance (their prey). reproduce viably in the wild. Year Woodford Folk Festival and to help In Australia spiders represent an Collecting methods were used in the regenerate the natural environment. understudied taxon, with many new species following sequence: During the 2018 Planting a new species waiting to be discovered and described. • careful visual study of bush, leaves, bark of crab spide nicknamed ‘Woodfordia’ was Science has so far described about 4,000 and ground, to see movement, spiders discovered (see cover photo). In 2019 species, only an quarter to one third of the suspended on silk, or spiders on any the BioDiscovery Project continued the actual species diversity. surface stocktake. Spiders thrive in good-quality habitat, • shaking foliage, causing spiders to fall On Saturday 4 May Robert Whyte’s where structural heterogeneity combines onto a white tray or cloth introductory talk was followed by a spider- with high diversity of animal, plant and • turning logs and rocks (returning them to quest and then an ID session in the Discovery fungi species. Many lineages of spiders their initial position) Lab. On Sunday the same basic program • transferring leaf litter into bags, then was repeated for the children’s festival. Robert Whyte identifying presenting spidiversity at the 1 https://goo.gl/Q7zGLw Google Scholar resources for spiders biodiversity. Children’s festival mark crocker

MEET EDINA This is an undescribed crab spider common in Wingham Brush in Northern NSW robert whyte

ARACHNOBALANCE A Meotipa sp. found at the Butterfly Walk in 2019 robert2 whyte 3 SPIDERS OF WOODFORDIA WOODFORDIA PLANTING FESTIVAL 3-5 MAY 2019 Butterfly Walk sifting though a handful at a time usually associated with degraded suburban FAMILY GENUS SPECIES COMMON NAME GENDER (M/F/J) QTY Araneidae Orb-weavers 1 Araneid 1 sp. 1 Unable to ID to genus J2 2 • sitting beside grass tussocks and waiting sites. Most common species included Araneidae Orb-weavers Araneus 1 acuminatus 1 Pointy-bummed Orb-weaver J3 3 Araneidae Orb-weavers Araneus dimidiatus 1 Dead-leaf Curler J1 1 (watching for Peacock Spiders). Philoponella congregabilis 14, Plebs eburnus Araneidae Orb-weavers Argiope 1 keyserlingi 1 St Andrew's Cross Spider J1 1 Araneidae Orb-weavers Plebs 1 eburnus 1 Burnished Grass Orb-weaver F1 M1 2 Samplings were in two locations, along the 12, and Argiope keyserlingi 12 while common Araneidae Orb-weavers Poecilopachys 1 australasia 1 Beautiful Two spined Orb-weaver J1 1 Clubionidae 1 Clubiona 1 sp. 1 Sac Spider J2 2 Butterfly Walk and along the creek behind families by abundance were Araneidae or Desidae 1 Badumna group 1 longinqua 1 House Spider J4 4 Linyphiidae 1 Linyphiid 1 sp. 1 Linyphiid F1 1 the Discovery Lab. Orb-weavers 30, Venomless House Spiders Mimetidae Pirate Spiders 1 Australomimetus 1 sp. 1 Pirate Spider F1 1 Oxyopidae Lynx Spiders Oxyopes elegans 1 Elegant Lynx Spider F2 2 In 2018 we had walked the Butterfly Walk. Uloboridae 14 and in third place a Jumping Oxyopidae Lynx Spiders 1 Oxyopes 1 macilentus 1 Elongated Lynx Spider F1 1 Oxyopidae Lynx Spiders Oxyopes variabilis 1 Variable Lynx Spider J4 4 At that time we found Silver and other spiders and Cobweb Spiders tied with 9. Pisauridae 1 Dendrolycosa 1 icadia 1 Tree Wolf Spider J1 1 Salticidae 1 Helpis 1 minitabunda 1 Bronze Aussie Jumper J2 2 orb-weavers, various jumping spiders and Salticidae Hypoblemum 1 scutulatum 1 Scuted Jumper F1 1 Salticidae Opisthoncus 1 sp. Bigjaw 2spot southern 1 Jumper J8 8 notably a crab spider ‘woodfordia’ which we Salticidae Paraphilaeus 1 daemeli 1 Daemel's Jumping Spider F1 J1 2 Sparassidae 1 Heteropoda 1 sp. 1 Brown Huntsman J5 5 knew was a new species from other surveys. Sparassidae Neosparrus 1 sp. 1 Badge Huntsman J1 1 Tetragnathidae 1 Leucauge 1 sp. 1 Silver Orb-weaver J1 1 In 2019 we collected with documented Tetragnathidae Tetragnatha 1 sp. 1 Long Jawed Spider J2 2 Theridiidae 1 Argyrodes 1 fissifrons 1 Split Forehead Cobweb Spider J1 1 records in two sites with interesting results. Theridiidae Ariamnes 1 colubrinus 1 Whip Spider J1 1 Theridiidae Dipoena 1 sp. 1 Phycosoma will be new name J1 1 The group collected almost exactly the same Theridiidae Euryopis 1 sp. 1 Tiny Globose Theridiid J1 1 Theridiidae Hadrotarsine 1 sp 1 Unknown genus F1 1 number of specimens in both locations, 92 Theridiidae Thwaitesia 1 nigronodosa 1 Disco-mirror-mall Spider M2 F2 J5 9 Theridiidae Meotipa 1 sp. 1 Cobweb Spider F2 J3 5 at the Creek behind the Discovery Lab, 93 Theridiidae Theridiid 1 sp. 1 Theridiid F1 J2 3 Theridiidae Theridion 1 pyrmidale 1 Theridiid J1 1 at the Butterfly Walk. These sites were only Thomisidae 1 Cymbacha sp. 1 Cymbacha sp. 1 Bare-legged Crab Spider F1 J1 2 Thomisidae Sidymella 1 lobata 1 Lobed Crab Spider F1 1 about 100 metres from each other but very Thomisidae Sidymella 1 rubrosignata 1 Twin Red Peaks J1 1 Thomisidae Tharpyna 1 diademata 1 Beach and Wallum Crab Spider F1 1 Thomisidae Tharrhalea-Lehtinelagia 1 "Edgar" 1 Steve's Beautiful Crab Spider F1 1 different vegetatively. The Butterfly Walk Thomisidae Tharrhalea-Lehtinelagia "woodfordia" 1 Woodfordia Crab Spider J6 6 Thomisidae Thomisus 1 spectabilis 1 Spectacular Crab Spider J3 3 being a restored site, the Creek behind Uloboridae 1 Philoponella congregabilis 1 Synanthropic Venomless Spider F5 5 Uloboridae 1 Philoponella 1 variabilis 1 Variable Venomless Spider F1 1 the Discovery Lab a weedy site with little Zodariidae 1 Storosa 1 sp. 1 Ant Hunting Spider M1 1 restoration. Creek behind Discovery Lab The results aligned with expectations FAMILY GENUS SPECIES COMMON NAME GENDER (M/F/J) QTY one might have had with regard to the site Araneidae Orb-weavers Araneus 1 acuminatus 1 Pointy-bummed Orb-weaver J1 1 Araneidae Orb-weavers Argiope 1 keyserlingi 1 St Andrew's Cross Spider J12 12 conditions. The restored site was faunisti- Araneidae Orb-weavers Cyclosa 1 insulana 1 Silver web decorator F1 1 cally rich, the weedy site poor. Araneidae Orb-weavers Plebs 1 eburnus 1 Burnished Grass Orb-weaver F5 M2 J9 16 Clubionidae 1 Clubiona 1 sp. 1 Sac Spider F1 J2 3 At the Butterfly Walk the most common Desidae 1 Badumna group 1 longinqua 1 House Spider J4 4 Eutichuridae 1 Cheiracanthium 1 mordax 1 Sac Spider F1 1 species were bushland and rainforest Linyphiidae Money Spider 1 sp. 1 Theridiid M1 1 species which are usually considered indica- Oxyopidae Lynx Spiders Oxyopes elegans 1 Elegant Lynx Spider F1 J1 2 Oxyopidae Lynx Spiders 1 Oxyopes 1 macilentus 1 Elongated Lynx Spider J2 2 tors of good quality habitat including Disco Oxyopidae Lynx Spiders Oxyopes variabilis 1 Variable Lynx Spider J1 1 Pisauridae 1 Dendrolycosa 1 icadia 1 Tree Wolf Spider J1 1 Mirror-ball Spider Thwaitesia nigronodosa 9, Salticidae 1 Helpis 1 minitabunda 1 Bronze Aussie Jumper J3 3 Salticidae Hypoblemum 1 scutulatum 1 Scuted Jumper F1 1 Opisthoncus sp. Big-jaw 2-spot southern 8, Salticidae Opisthoncus 1 sp. Bigjaw 2spot southern 1 Jumper J4 4 and a new species of crab spider Tharrhalea Salticidae Zenodorus 1 orbiculatus 1 Ant eating jumper F1 1 Sparassidae 1 Heteropoda 1 sp. 1 Brown Huntsman J1 1 ‘woodfordia’ 6, while the most common Tetragnathidae 1 Leucauge 1 sp. 1 Silver Orb-weaver F2 J5 7 Tetragnathidae Tetragnatha 1 sp. 1 Long Jawed Spider J1 1 families by abundance at the Butterfly Theridiidae 1 Euryopis 1 sp 1 Euryopis J1 1 Walk were Theridiidae or Cobweb spiders Theridiidae Euryopis 1 sp. 1 Tiny Globose Theridiid J1 1 Theridiidae Thwaitesia 1 nigronodosa 1 Disco-mirror-mall Spider F1 J4 5 23, Thomisidae or Crab Spiders 15 and Theridiidae Meotipa 1 sp. 1 Cobweb Spider J1 1 Theridiidae Theridion 1 sp. 1 Theridiid J1 1 Salticidae or Jumping Spiders 13. Thomisidae 1 Cymbacha sp. 1 Cymbacha sp. 1 Bare-legged Crab Spider J1 1 At the Discovery Lab creek site, despite the Thomisidae Sidymella 1 hirsuta 1 Hairy Crab Spider J1 1 AsThomisidae far as we know this is the world’sSidymella first image1 oflongtail a live specimen of Cetratus1 circumlitusLongtail (L. Koch, 1876). J1 Nicknamed “White- 1 presence of an ephemeral waterway, the most lineThomisidae Fever” it was collected by Thomisusthe Spiders Team1 atspectabilis Carlo Point on Saturday 251 AugustSpectacular 2018. Crab Spider This is a rangeM1 J1extension for a 2 Three pattern forms of the female common Grass Orb-weaver speciesThomisidae previously known onlyXysticus from NSW. The1 undescribedalbomaculata male was also found1 Tharpyna at the (actually) site. ♀ 5 mm ♂ 4.5F1 mm robert whyte 1 common species were synanthropic species Plebs eburnus. Uloboridae 1 Philoponella congregabilis 1 Synanthropic Venomless Spider F2 J12 14

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Comparison of two Woodfordia sites 100 92 93 90 80 70 60 50 41 40 36 30 30 27

20 15 11 10 0 Below Meotipa sp.,Families bottom a common undescribed Genera Theridiid Species Abundance notionally in Theridion. 1 2 3 4

Creek behind discovery lab Butterfly Walk

Top row left Common Grass Weaver Plebs eburnus male, right Web Decorating Spider Cyclosa sp. Bottm row left Common Garden Above Disco Mirror-ball Thwaitesia nigronodosa male, below the female. Theridiid Theridion sp. right Graceful Spikey-bum Cobweb Spider Meotipa sp.

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Conclusions MEET EDINA from the The spiders collected at the Butterfly Walk poor for spiders, with an overpopulation species ‘Edgar and Edina’, show the positive benefits of weeding and of syanthropic species apparently outcom- an undescribed crab spider planting. peting the high-value species found at the robert whyte The Butterfly Walk has been planted and Butterfly Walk. The Disco Mirror-ball cared for since 1994 with intensified efforts Spider was considerably less abundant, with creating butterfly and other invertebrate only four specimens collected compared habitat from around 2002 onwards, with the nine at the Butterfly Walk. More The 2019 spider survey found several critically, the Crab Spiders Tharrhalea species at the Butterfly Walk known to ‘woodfordia’ and Tharrhalea ‘Edgar and be associated with high-quality remant Edina’ were not present at the Discovery rainforest, including the undescribed Lab site. crab spiders, Tharrhalea ‘woodfordia’ and The conclusions one can draw from these Tharrhalea ‘Edgar and Edina’ both of which findings are in line with similar sampling are also known from one of Australia’s for biodiversity elsewhere. Inaction against pioneer restorations, Wingham Brush in invasive pests comes at a cost. It is strongly NSW, as well as being found in pristine recommended Woodfordia increase its areas of bush and rainforest. weeding efforts to allow the transition to Yet only a 100m away from the Butterfly natural forest. Walk, in an ephemeral creekbed behind the Discovery Lab, the situation was unusually Anne Jones sorting and Robert Whyte identifying specimens at the discovery lab. mark crocker

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Nosterella pollardi Pollard’s Ant Hunter in Family Zodariidae. This species until now has been found only on Lord Howe Island. This sighting is the first continental record. robert whyte

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