Water Spider (Megadolomedes australianus) (3/12)

Araneae: Pisauridae

Megadolomedes australianus  

Female Nursery Spider guarding the nursery. The male is also in the vegetation a little lower but cannot be seen in this photograph.

The web is not designed to catch prey, but rather to provide protection for the young and is the reason the spider is known as the Nursery or Nursery-web Spider.

The dark blob in the middle of the web to the left of the spider is comprised of hundreds of young spiders bunched up together.

The nursery is built over the water.