8-3 = 5
Three roosting flies are missing !
They are cleverly caught by Gnathopalystes species ( Huntsman spider) .I was really surprised to see , How this Huntsman spider caught Three of them. Slightest movement will make these flies allert.Still This spider has managed to catch three of them . We can also see a dragline in between neem leaves. This spider came back to neem leaf, where flies are roosting & again caught the roosting flies !
June 2022
Indraprastha ,
Mysuru .

radiantdiffuser #olympus

Smartness of Hamadruas ?

Yesterday I was on my regular walk with my camera. I saw something unusual.
Hamadruas sp, spider was guarding its eggsac, which was over hibiscus leaf !
Seeing Hamadruas with eggsac on leaf is not unusual.
its typical of this genus where spider suspends leaf with eggsac through its silk.
What was unusual here is, Instead of the spider using its own silk to Hang the leaf, Hamadruas had just dropped the leaf over the CYCLOSA web !
poor cyclosa had moved to one corner with its damaged web !
Hamadruas has now got primary support for its eggsac, & its definitely easy to give strength for hanging leaf though its silk.
Though I usually see Hamadruas over leaf hanging, I never saw its process !
This could be one of the processes, how Hamadruas protects its eggsac !
Nov 2021
Indraprastha,
Mysuru .