Mirror spider

Wow! Ick. Oooh. Whaaaaaaat. No. No. NOPE. That pretty much summarizes my reactions while looking at these incredible macro shots of spiders photographed by Nicky Bay who lives and works in Singapore. The boundless biodiversity found on the country’s several islands includes a vast array of insects and arachnids, many of which Bay has painstakingly documented up close with his macro photography and published on his blog and Flickr account. More

For several years, I have been observing the odd behavior of the Mirror Spider (Thwaitesia sp.) where the "silver-plates" on the abdomen seem to shrink when the spider is agitated (or perhaps threatened), revealing the actual abdomen. At rest, the silver plates expand and the spaces between the plates close up to become an almost

Thwaitesia argentiopunctata Thwaitesia argentiopunctata known as the sequined spider, mirror spider, or twin‑peaked Thwaitesia is a species of spider found in all the states of Australia. Body length is around 3 millimetres for males, 4 mm for females. Wikipedia

snail?

Australia's mirror spiders carry tiny little treasure chests on their abdomens.

Mirror spider (Twaitesia sp.) by melvyn yeo

Check out our Spotting of the Day, a Black-spotted Thwaitesia from Australia! Spiders in the genus Thwaitesia are commonly called “mirror spiders” or “sequined spiders", due to the shimmery spots on their abdomen. These are thought to make the spiders harder to see for predators due to light scattering.

mirror-spider-thwaitesia-argentiopunctata-3

mirror-spider creation.com https://creation.com/mirror-sequined-spiders?fbclid=IwAR2jOP9jX7WGQIOwUoj-Np3a0DvmV6n8dEtg5yVyESo8G40wOSadXK-tHoo

Mirror comb-footed spider (Thwaitesia sp.) - DSC_5655

The mirror plates on the spider can expand and contract. Taken at night in Singapore forest. Content quoted from www.sciencefriday.com/blogs/09… ... Mirror comb-footed spider (Thwaitesia sp.)

Mirror Comb-footed Spider (Thwaitesia sp.) Depending on the spider’s mood and how threatened it is, the mirror spider is able to change the size of those scales, shrinking when agitated and expanding during rest. https://www.instagram.com/thru_de_lenz/

sgmacro.blogspot.com/2013/07/transformation-of-mirror-spider.html

Sequined spider (Thwaitesia argentiopunctata) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thwaitesia_argentiopunctata PHOTO: Mirror Spider (Thwaitesia sp.) - DSC_9958 by nickybay http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickadel/9298928457/ - WANT

mirror-spider-thwaitesia-argentiopunctata-5 This isn’t a stained-glass sculpture or piece of delicate jewelry – it’s a real live spider. These spiders, called mirror or sequined spiders, are all members of several different species of the thwaitesia genus, which features spiders with reflective silvery patches on their abdomen.

Wow! Ick. Oooh. Whaaaaaaat. No. No. NOPE. That pretty much summarizes my reactions while looking at these incredible macro shots of spiders photographed by Nicky Bay who lives and works in Singapore. The boundless biodiversity found on the country’s several islands includes a vast array of insects and arachnids, many of which Bay has painstakingly documented up close with his macro photography and published on his blog and Flickr account. More

Thwaitesia argentiopunctata

For the last several years Singapore-based photographer Nicky Bay (previously here and here) has been documenting the life of the mirror spider, an unusual arthropod whose abdomen is covered in bright reflective panels that appear almost metallic. Bay recently noticed that some of the spiders exhibit unusual behavior in addition to their shiny appearance: apparently the spiders are able manipulate the mirrors in situations where they might feel threatened. More

Posts about Lynx spider written by Anthony Quek