Quaddro II

Quaddro II with fly.

The day before yesterday I saw a little huntsman spider sitting on one of the stairs in the front foyer. With only 4 legs, all on one side of its body, and a shrivelled little abdomen I figured it must be dead, but I poked it and it moved so I went into our place to get a glass and a piece of paper and capture it.

Quaddro I had two pairs of legs on opposite sides of his body; I thought for sure at the time that he'd been very lucky not to have lost 4 all on one side, thinking it must be impossible for a spider to survive. After all, Quaddro I was significantly movement-impaired, forced to engage in a slow and deliberate walk rather than a huntsman's speedy scuttle.

Quaddro II isn't nearly as movement-impaired as I had expected, luckily for him/her/it (hereafter I think Quaddro II shall be a 'he') that doesn't seem to be the case. He doesn't move around much voluntarily, but when I put a fly in he had no trouble pouncing on it. Believe it or not, the day I found him was so hot I could not find a single fly- normally the little bastards are crawling in through holes in the flyscreen or flying in as soon as the screen door is opened for a millisecond. We also don't have a grasshopper problem this year, so no baby grasshoppers either. It was almost 24 hours before I could find Quaddro II a single fly, but I had put a drop or two of water in the glass so he could have a drink if needed. He certainly looked happier once I gave him the fly, not letting it go until it was an unrecognisable scrunched up little black ball. Hopefully in a week or two he will have grown some new legs and life won't be so precarious.

Fat and happy after eating the fly!