Austracantha minax at Molonglo Valley, ACT

Christmas Spider, Jewel Spider at Molonglo Valley, ACT

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Identification history

Austracantha minax	2 Feb 2018	KimPullen
Austracantha minax	1 Feb 2018	HarveyPerkins
Unidentified	18 Nov 2017	HarveyPerkins

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4 comments

HarveyPerkins wrote:

19 Nov 2017

I have no idea what these little cocoons are made by. I've submitted under 'moths' but I really don't know. The binding of the cocoon to the stems suggests the structure was constructed from the inside and working outwards (whereas lepidopterous cocoons normally start on the outside and finish inside). So maybe an egg case? My only other comment at this stage is that the skeletonising of a eucalypt leaf by a Uraba lugens larva is evident in the second photo.

CathB wrote:

31 Jan 2018

I collected one of these a while ago and was surprised to see spiders hatch from it. With some googling, I discovered these are the egg sacs of the Jewel Spider, Austracantha minax

HarveyPerkins wrote:

1 Feb 2018

Thank you CathB! Great to have that mystery solved. I thought it had to be an egg sac of some sort but I didn't think of a spider as a possibility. Although I can't recall seeing Christmas/Jewel spiders at this particular location this year, they are abundant just across Caswell Drive (as was) on the lower slopes of Black Mountain.

lebobo wrote:

18 Jul 2020

Hi. Thanks for this conversation. I have 4 of these egg sacks in my lime tree, a tree were during summer Christmas jewel spiders were living (don't know were they hide during winter) First noticed in February and after 5 months in July I could not resist to cut one off the tree and see what was inside. To my surprise there were many many very small spiders in the cocoon. Porongurup WA South West.

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