When driving through the Addo Elephant National Park recently I was intrigued by these messy nests that seemed to be found in most of the trees.
Thanks to Joan from Photographs from South Africa, who identified the architect or rather architects of these nests and satisfied my curiosity by suppling the information below. Joan has a most remarkable site that covers a wide range of subjects on South African wildlife and nature. I really enjoy her superb photos, which reflect the passion she has for her subjects.
This is the work of Stegodyphus dumicola, a community nest spider.
Community nest spiders are grayish-brown, usually with patters on the abdomen. The males are smaller and more brightly coloured than the females. The carapace is slightly raised and distinctively clothed in white hairs, with a triangular pattern of white hair between the eyes.
Stegodyphus is most often noticed because of large and untidy nest it constructs in trees, usually Acacia. A large number of females, males and juveniles live together in one nest. They use cribellate silk to spin the nest which consists of a retreat of numerous tunnels and chambers, and a web which is used to catch prey.
You have to be careful when driving through the Park, if you concentrate to hard on the elephants, you might just miss these little gems.
