The spider species that can change colour and does not weave a web
The West Sussex Gazette has teamed up with the Sussex Wildlife Trust to bring you monthly questions and answers about all things nature.
Charlotte Owen, WildCall officer at Sussex Wildlife Trust, is on hand to answer your wildlife and conservation queries. As well as answering a variety of wildlife queries, Charlotte is always eager to receive your wildlife sightings in Sussex.
WildCall provides fact sheets ranging from how to make bird cake to beachcombing and can offer advice on environmental and planning issues as well as the best ways to help wildlife such as frogs, birds, bats and bees flourish in your garden.
To talk to Charlotte, call 01273 494777 between 9.30am and 1pm on weekdays, email wildcall@sussexwt.org.uk, write to her at WildCall, Sussex Wildlife Trust, Woods Mill, Henfield, BN5 9SD or visit www.sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/wildcall
It’s a flower crab spider, and the amazing thing about this species is the females can change colour to match the flower they’re in. They are frequently white, with two red spots, or lines, on the abdomen – but they often sit on yellow flowers, in which case they gradually turn yellow over several days. They can also turn green but any change is a slow transformation.
These spiders don’t weave webs but lie in wait to ambush their unsuspecting prey, and it’s a very effective strategy – they are almost invisible until you know they’re there. The powerful front legs are much longer than the others (contributing to a crab-like appearance) and the spider pounces with incredible speed to grab its prey in a deadly embrace before injecting a dose of fast-acting venom to finish them off. This allows them to
As weeks go, this one is up there, mainly for the reason that I’ve officially been on holiday since last Friday. Since I logged off, I’ve only checked my work emails three times but I’ve since made a deal with the little fella with the briefcase, who perches on my shoulder and whispers ‘another hour on the laptop won’t hurt’ into my ear on a daily basis, that I will leave the office well alone until my fortnight’s break is over.
This is easier said than done, given that the first week of my holiday has been spent in the familiar surroundings of Costa del Our Gate – a genuine staycation – but like millions of others over the past 18 months, my home has been my office.
While I very much appreciate the many benefits it has brought society’s way, I’m definitely in the technology-can-be-a-bitof-a-pain camp, especially when it means ‘going into work’ involves switching on the tackle targets several times larger than they are, and bees, wasps, hoverflies, butterflies and other pollinating insects are all on the menu. company issue smartphone. It’s taken a few years for me to perfect the art, but the first few days of a holiday, aside, I’ve finally learned how to switch off.
It seems that isn’t necessarily the case for a significant proportion of the population who, this summer, will be packing their laptops and headphones into the boot of the people carrier, along with what’s left of the wine club subscription and the bodyboards. This is because there appears to be a growing trend of people working from their holiday rentals. It has even been given a name, albeit a rubbish one: the woliday. Granted, the moniker appears to be the work of people plugging the services of a mobile phone giant, but I’m pretty sure that the name won’t catch on, for no other reason than people who do log on from the comfort of a caravan, won’t take kindly to being dubbed ‘wollies’.
But this isn’t some public relations wheeze, holidaymakers genuinely are