Net Casting Spiders Behviour

The nocturnal behaviour of the amazing Net Casting Spider, Deinopis sp.
Once complete darkness has fallen (they are not active prior to complete darkness) , the Net Casting Spider will come out of hiding, lowering itself close to the ground, it attaches silk guy lines forming a simple triangular like scaffold where it will then produces an amazing super elastic "net" using a special structure called a cribellum, a type of comb on the tiba of the hind legs. The net silk is not sticky.
Once the net is complete, the Deinopis then turns to face towards the ground or the surface to which prey might pass.
The Net Casting Spider Deinopis, then using it's excellent binocular vision, (two large forward facing eyes) waits until prey passes under the net. The large forward facing eyes are also specially adapted to low light vision and in fact, during filming, without artificial lights, we couldn't see anything but these spiders can function perfectly.
Due to the setup of the supporting guy lines, some are under tension, so that when the spider is ready to strike, the net casting Spider Deinopis releases this tension on the guy lines and is "propelled" lightening fast along with its net to ensnare its victim.
The prey is first subdued by the net only, it is then wrapped in hundreds of parallel silk threads, different in structure from the net, it is only then that the prey, once totally immobilised, is envenomated by the Net Casting Spider.


Note: the end credits scene is the remaining carcass of a grasshopper, which had been purposefully dropped to the ground, only to be further consumed by ants.

About the filming of the behaviour of the Net Casting Spider Deinopis.

All the footage of the Net Casting Spider was shot with a Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera, assorted Nikon lenses and peripheral equipment.
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