spiders

Pūngāwerewere: Spider!

Sue Jane

If you’re taking part in the Summer Reading Adventure this year you’ll have come across a few different challenges that ask you to go outside and take a close look at what’s around you. There’s The Upward Looking Urban Photographer which asks you to look upwards in a place familiar to you and spot something new, there’s On the Mountain – Matairangi Quest which challenges you to visit the Matairangi Nature Trail on Mount Victoria and tell us about something you learned or spotted there, there’s Nature’s Perfect Challenge where we ask you to use your senses to investigate the natural world around you, and of course there’s He Rapa Ngāngara te Mahi | The Great Bug Hunt where we challenge you to search out some creepy-crawlies outside.

One creature you might come across while you’re completing these activities is the pūngāwerewere (or spider), and we thought we’d share some of the really interesting things about spiders with you.

Have you heard of the strange phenomenon where spiders’ webs can blanket an entire area of plants including trees? The phenomenon is a survival tactic called ballooning and it is where spiders spin large webs which catch onto grass, shrubs and trees to escape threats like flooding. This happened a couple of years ago in the state of Victoria, Australia, after a storm caused flooding and left the ground covered in a ballooning blanket of webs.

Spiders are amazing creatures that have adapted to find all sorts of ways to survive. Sadly, they get a really bad rap as their scary appearance makes many people frightened of them. Did you know that the irrational fear of spiders is called Arachnophobia? This word comes from Greek mythology, where Arachne, a skilled weaver, was turned into a spider by the goddess Athena after winning a weaving competition with the goddess (Athena was not happy!).

20 fun facts about spiders

1)Black spider in web clip art, cute style 12cm | This clipart… | Flickr Spiders are not insects. Instead, spiders are known as arachnids because they only have two body segments instead of three. Other arachnids are scorpions, mites, and ticks.
2) Spiders spin webs to catch other bugs to eat, but not all spiders make webs! Some actively hunt their prey and pounce.
3) Most spiders are not dangerous to humans.
4) The wolf spider carries her babies on her back with her.
5) Most spiders live on land, but a few, like the raft spiders, live in and on water. These spiders can “run” across the water’s surface.
6) On average, it takes a spider about 60 minutes to spin a web.
7) Spiders are just as valuable to the world as larger animals, but most people don’t realize it. Many spiders are becoming endangered and are disappearing due to loss of habitat (home).
8) The average house has 30 spiders.
9) You are always three feet away from a spider.
10) Grass spiders build a web on top of the grass. Their webs form a funnel shape, which is not sticky.
11) The silk strands in a web are 5x stronger than a piece of steel the same size.
12) Spiders have short hairs on their feet that allow them to walk upside down on ceilings and over glass.
13) Spiders are found everywhere in the world except for the cold polar regions of the Arctic and Antarctic.
14) The average life of a spider is one to two years. Although the female tarantula may live up to 20 years!

15) The silk is a liquid inside the spider’s abdomen. When the spider releases it, it becomes solid and forms a thread.
16) Some spiders eat their old web before starting a new one. Others roll the old web up and throw it away. Web spiders rebuild their web each day!
17) Spiders don’t usually eat their prey because they have small mouths. Instead, they put chemicals into and on the prey to turn the body into a liquid. Then the spider sucks it up.
18) The hair on a spider’s first pair of legs are sensitive to taste. The spider “tastes” its prey by touching it.
19) Spiders use muscles to move their legs inward toward their body. But they don’t have muscles to pull their legs out. So to move legs out, a spider has to pump body water into each leg. This is why you can sometimes see a spider curled up – he has lost too much water to push his legs out again.
20) Some spiders, such as the tarantula, are considered a low-maintenance pet.

Want to know more facts about spiders?

I’m trying to love spiders : (it isn’t easy) / Barton, Bethany
“This fresh and very funny non-fiction picture book shares lots of fascinating facts about spiders in an entirely captivating way. If I’m Trying to Love Spiders doesn’t cure your spider phobia, it’ll at least make you appreciate how amazing they are…and laugh a lot as you learn about them.”– Provided by publisher.” (Catalogue)

Bug lab for kids : family-friendly activities for exploring the amazing world of beetles, butterflies, spiders, and other arthropods / Guyton, John W.
“Prepare to cozy up with spiders, centipedes, butterflies, and bees, to name just a few! In Bug Lab for Kids, Mississippi State University associate professor, extension entomologist (bug expert), and educator John W. Guyton shares his knowledge and excitement about all things beautiful, creepy, and crawly.” (Catalogue)

Australia’s most dangerous spiders– and their relatives / Riley, Kathy
“Dangerous to people or not? Learn how to recognise the most deadly spiders – and how to help someone who has been bitten. Discover the amazing tricks spiders use to catch plenty of insects for their dinner. Find out how to tell thich sipder made the huge web that appeared in your garden overnight. Inspect some astonishing close-up photos of spiders on the hunt for food or hiding from their enemies.” (Catalogue)

Insects and spiders / Parker, Steve
“A first nature book about insects and spiders for children, this is the perfect companion for young minds eager to learn about the world of bugs. Children are encouraged to investigate and record all the creepy crawlies they find, and get hands on with the fun activities, from making your own bug hotel to collect insects in to building an ant farm.With a mix of fantastic photographs and beautiful illustrations Insects and Spiders takes you through everything you need to know about these minibeasts. Learn what termites build their nests from, how an earwig looks after her eggs, and why wasps have black and yellow stripes.” (Catalogue)

Want to read some fiction books that feature spiders?

Sam Wu is NOT afraid of spiders! / Tsang, Katie
“The brilliantly funny fourth book in the SAM WU series, starring the bravest scaredy-cat in the world! Perfect for reluctant readers and fans of Tom Fletcher, Pamela Butchart and Humza Arshad’s Badman. Sam Wu is NOT afraid of anything. Well, maybe some things. Like ghosts, sharks … the dark’s pretty worrying too. And not to mention SPIDERS! But Sam’s not going to let anyone know. And so when Tulip, the school tarantula, disappears from her cage, Sam decides it’s up to him and his friends to save the school from the eight-legged escapee … Common childhood fears dealt with in a hilarious, sensitive and accessible way. ding charity, and also writes YA fiction as Katherine Webber.” (Catalogue)

Charlotte’s web / White, E. B.
“One spring morning a little girl called Fern rescues a runt and names him Wilbur. But then Wilbur is sent to live on a farm where he meets Charlotte, a beautiful large grey spider. They become best friends and, when Wilbur is faced with the usual fate of nice fat little pigs, Charlotte must find a clever way to save him.” (Catalogue)

The spider’s song / Longstaff, Simon
“The Spider’s Song is a remarkable debut children’s book, written by Simon Longstaff and illustrated by Dutch artist Marc Van de Griendt. Lose yourself in the enchanted world of The Boffin, who as a young science prodigy dared to compete with Mother Nature and create his very own perfect world. Years go by and the Boffin enjoys his solitude, inventing creatures most bizarre: ovelwoozers, worralots, midbits and phtphts, each more weird and wonderful then the next. That is until a clever spider and a curious girl venture into his world to teach him the most important lesson of all, one he won’t find in any textbook or lab. With subtle messages woven throughout, The Spider’s Song teaches adults and children alike the value of nature, acceptance, humanity and friendship.” (Catalogue)

The very busy spider / Carle, Eric
“The farm animals try to divert a busy little spider from spinning her web, but she persists and produces a thing of both beauty and usefulness. The pictures may be felt as well as seen.” (Catalogue)

Sophie’s masterpiece : a spider’s tale / Spinelli, Eileen
“Sophie the spider makes wondrous webs, but the residents of Beekman’s Boarding House do not appreciate her until at last, old and tired, she weaves her final masterpiece.” (Catalogue)

Stink and the hairy scary spider / McDonald, Megan
“Creepy! Crawly! Criminy! Stink is bonkers about most scientific things. But dangle a spider in front of him and he goes berserk! Stink is so freaked out by spiders that he can’t read about them. He can’t look at them. He can’t think about them. And he for sure can’t touch them! Stink has arachnophobia (a fear of spiders), and he has it bad. But when a hairy backyard emergency arises, Stink is forced to face his fear–and eight beady eyes–head-on. Will he manage to tame the heebie-jeebies, or will he remain stuck in his web of tarantulan terror? ” (Catalogue)

Fascinating and Weird New Zealand Invertebrates

Merritt
Kakapo Hugh feeds on some vibrant red supplejack berries

Photo by Jake Osborne, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Three seals on a rocky outcrop. One reaches its head up to another silhouetted against the sea

Photo by Laura Boren, Department of Conservation, licensed under CC BY 4.0

New Zealand is home to many fascinating and beautiful creatures. There’s the vibrant green Kākāpō, the endangered bird that booms in the night. There’s the Pekapeka-tou-roa, the smaller of our two native bat species, which controversially won Bird of the Year in 2021. There are Tuna, who can wriggle their way up waterfalls and can be seen in the streams around Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush. We have the blue, green, and red Takehē, who we once thought were extinct but were rediscovered in 1948. There’s the Kekeno, or New Zealand fur seal, that you can spot sunbathing on the rocks around the coast. And who could forget the Tuatara, our ‘living fossils’, that can live to at least eighty?

A tuatara crouches and looks towards the camera

Photo by Leon Berard, licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0

These birds, mammals (marine or otherwise), and reptiles are all amazing creatures, but what about some of the native creatures that you might not have heard about? What about our fascinating and often-weird-looking invertebrates?

Humans are vertebrates, which means that we have a backbone. If you feel your way up the middle of your back you’ll be able to feel the lumps of the vertebrae that make up your spinal column. Invertebrates are creatures that have no backbone or spinal column. Think of an octopus, that can squeeze it’s whole body through the tiniest of gaps, or a wētā that has the hard parts of its body, its exoskeleton, on the outside. Those are both invertebrates!

Let’s have a look at some of the weird and wonderful invertebrates we have living around Aotearoa:

Corals

Underwater photo of a tree-like coral with white 'leaves' and small fish swimming around it

Photo: 246922003 by sea-kangaroo on iNaturalist, licensed under CC BY 4.0

Yes, corals are animals and they’re invertebrates!

Many of the coral species in New Zealand are protected. The coral in this photo is known as a black coral, even though it looks very pale. Black corals are named for the colour of their skeletons, so a living black coral appears white and will only appear black once it has died. Black corals are hexacorals, which means that they have six tentacles and body partitions. Anemones are hexacorals too!

Ngaokeoke | Velvet worm | Peripatus

A dark blue velvet worm climbing over a piece of orange rotting wood

Photo: 79386934 by Strewick on iNaturalist, licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0

These ‘walking worms‘ look a bit like caterpillars with short stumpy legs. They come in a range of colours, from indigo (like the picture to the left), to grey, to orange. There are at least 30 different species of velvet worm in New Zealand, however only 9 have been described by scientists so far.

Like the Tuatara, Ngaokeoke are another ‘living fossil’ – they still closely resemble their ancestors from hundreds of millions of years ago!

Powelliphanta

A large snail with a flat black and brown striped shell crawls over some moss

Photo by Kath Walker, Department of Conservation, licensed under CC BY 4.0

Some species of this native snail can grow as big as your fist!

These snails have distinctive, beautiful shells that can come striped in patterns of reds, browns, blacks, and yellows. They are carnivorous, which means they eat things like slugs and worms, and there are at least 21 different Powelliphanta species across the motu.

Gay Hay’s wonderful book Watch Out, Snail!, about a Powelliphanta snail encountering various other animals, is currently on display as the latest installment of Te Ara Pukapuka (The Book Pathway) over at Khandallah Park.

Putoko ropiropi | Leaf-veined slug

A tear-drop shaped slug with leaf-like veins along its back crawls along a blade of grass

Photo: 11847495 by Shaun Lee on iNaturalist, licensed under CC BY 4.0

That’s not a leaf, it really is a slug in that picture! These invertebrates are included in this list for the way they look. This one looks a lot like a leaf, but some closely resemble gherkins!

There are around 30 different species of native New Zealand slugs, and they all have that leaf-like pattern to help camouflage them in the bush. Leaf-veined slugs have been spotted at Zealandia, and gardeners don’t need to worry because our native slug species don’t damage garden plants.

Salps

Close-up of several chains of transparent salps washed up on a beach

Photo by Chris Woods, NIWA, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Salps are those little clear lumps you sometimes find in the sea that can make it feel like you’re swimming through lumpy rice pudding. You can come across salps in chains, like in the photo here, or as individuals.

Salps are one of the unnerving mysterious things encountered in Things in the Sea are Touching Me, but we learn that they’re nothing to be worried about.

Wētāpunga | Giant wētā

A giant wētā perched on the photographer's hand with a friendly look in its eyes

Photo: 107125402 by Zhaoxuan Li on iNaturalist, licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0

There are many different species of Wētā in Aotearoa. The Wētāpunga is the largest of them all!

These impressive invertebrates only managed to survive in the wild on Hauturu-o-Toi (Little Barrier Island) thanks to habitat destruction and predators, but there are breeding programmes in place to help build numbers.

Gentle Giant: Wētāpunga has a lot more information about these threatened creatures, or you could check out No Home for a Wētā for a fun story about a young Wētā who’s sick of her rambunctious family.

If you’d like to learn more about these native invertebrates, or find out about other creatures not on this list, check out these titles in our collection:

New Zealand’s backyard beasts / Barraud, Ned
“In the garden, creeping along branches, hiding under stones or flitting from flower to flower, a whole universe of creatures is waiting to be discovered. Butterflies, moths, beetles, wasps, spiders… what have you found in your backyard? Did you know that chorus cicadas live underground for most of their life? That bumblebees have smelly feet? That some species of stick insect are all female? Or that earwigs don’t actually crawl into ears? […] From the simply curious to the budding entomologist, New Zealand’s Backyard Beasts will please and inform all age groups about the fascinating creatures found in the back garden. Whether just looking at the beautiful illustrations or absorbing the facts, this book is a must for all backyard adventurers.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Animals of Aotearoa : explore & discover New Zealand’s wildlife / Candler, Gillian
“Animals of Aotearoa is a must-have compendium for children curious about New Zealand’s wild animals. Based on the award-winning and best-selling `Explore and Discover’ children’s series about New Zealand’s natural history, this book is packed full of illustrations and information about our native animals, both common and rare, as well as many well-known introduced animals. The book includes land and sea birds, frogs and lizards, many kinds of fish and other marine creatures, insects and invertebrates.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

In the bush : explore & discover New Zealand’s native forests / Candler, Gillian
“In the Bush is the fourth in the popular Explore & Discover series. It includes insects and other invertebrates, fungi, ferns and mosses, birds, bats, introduced pests, vines, epiphytes, and trees. Includes removeable, waterproof reference guide.” (Catalogue)

The life-size guide to insects & other land vertebrates of New Zealand / Crowe, Andrew
“Pictorial guide to identifying common insects, spiders and other land vertebrates of New Zealand. Suggested level: primary, intermediate, secondary.” (Catalogue)

Tiaki : a shout-out to Aotearoa’s lesser-known creatures / Donaldson, Jean
“This book is a shout-out to the weird and wonderful endangered species in Aotearoa, those lesser-known creatures that don’t regularly make the news. But they are just as important as the ‘stars’ like kākāpō and kiwi, for they are the foundation of our unique biodiversity. Tiaki includes such exotic animals as the Smeagol gravel maggot, a sea slug found on the south coast of Wellington; the moko kākāriki, a gecko with a bright blue mouth; the kōwaro/Canterbury mudfish, which can survive out of water for up to several months; and the tiny, critically endangered pekapeka-tou-roa/ long-tailed bat.” (Adapted from Catalogue)