#australomimetus

[drhoz]

#1892 - Australomimetus sp. - Pirate Spider eggcase

Found while I was strolling around The Spectacles for the Great Southern Bioblitz 2022, on the same branch as some Uloborid Venomless Spiders, and some Dewdrop Spiders that were kleptoparasitising the Uloborid’s hackled orb web. Both spiders will have bigger problems when these eggs hatch, because Mimetids are specialist predators of other spiders, strumming the silk to mimic ensnared prey or potential mates. 

Of course that diet makes mating even more risky than it does for other spiders, and it’s not clear what they do to minimize the chance of sudden cannibalism. At least one genus has extremely long pedipalps, presumably so he can inseminate his mate from as far away as possible.