Such a Pretty Little Spider!

The Rower and I decided to mosey on down to the Belair Station again today, to see what we could see. I was keen to get my spider blip, and bless her heart, she was still there waiting for me.

First of all, I have very good news to report - domestic harmony has been restored, and baby magpie was, once more, begging his parents for lunch. He didn't seem any the worse for wear after yesterday's fright. Dad was a bit standoffish, but Mum was doing what Mums do best, finding grubs for her baby.

Now, for all you arachnophobes out there - this spider is tiny, so tiny you wouldn't notice her even if she jumped out at you. She lives in the white centre of a purple flower (great choice), and is smaller than a quarter of my little finger nail. I've decided that she's a she, because she's so pretty.

The most interesting thing about this particular flower spider (Thomisus spectabilis) is her choice of camouflage. If you saw Vodkaman's spider 2 or 3 days ago, you may have noticed a pink streak down the side, which mimicked the pink streaks in the flower. Well, this spider has a little orange flash on her head which mimics the orange spots in the centre of the flower. How cool is that?

I have read on one of the websites that this spider only occurs in Australia, but it looked awfully like Vodkaman's spider to me.