NATURE NOTES
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The red head, glossy black legs and stocky appearance identify the spider above as a male mouse spider.
Male mouse spiders are on the move in autumn and early winter in search of females.
This one - at Smythesdale last month - was persistently walking, making photography difficult.
The two huge red jaws can be seen at the front - almost as large as the rest of the head. The abdomen is an inky blue-black colour, quite different from the glossy legs.
The apparent extra pair of legs extending out the front are very long pedipalps, which contain the mating organs and also assist in "smelling out" the females in their burrows. In most other spiders, these are shorter.
This specimen was fairly large, perhaps 15mm from head to tail, and with a legspan of about 45mm lengthwise. Males do not mature until they are at least four years old.
Females - seldom seen unless dug up - are all black, much larger and stouter, and with comparatively short, thick legs. Their body length is around 25mm. It is probably the females that gave the name of mouse spider, being almost mouse-sized in some people's minds.
Females stay in their burrows, but the males move around in daylight, searching for a mate.
This wandering usually occurs after rain, as was the case at Smythesdale last month.
Burrows have "trap doors", and are oval rather than circular.
Mouse spiders have very toxic venom and can give a painful bite, but serious reactions to it are apparently rare.
Although often regarded as inland spiders - north of the Great Dividing Range - they have been seen in many parts of the Ballarat region over the years, not only north of the Divide.
Their status here is difficult to determine, but they are probably uncommon.
SWANS GRAZING
Why are so many of Lake Wendouree's swans and other waterbirds out of the water grazing on grass and other plants, instead of seeking waterplants in the water?
It seems likely that terrestrial plants such as grasses and clovers start their growth with the autumn rains, while aquatic plants may put on more growth when days lengthen and sunlight increases the temperature of the water slightly.
New growth is no doubt more attractive to waterbirds than old growth, so this seems a likely explanation of the annual hazardous movement of waterbirds to lawns and nature strips. Complete crossing of Gillies Street's four busy lanes is particularly hazardous.
New cygnets also feed more onshore than they do in the water.