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Project Noah Nature School
Hamataliwa incompta
Pic #1. Shows the colours and markings of this spider, I think, well enough for identification purposes. It also shows the flat face which is typical of most Lynx Spiders. Pic #2. The egg sac is embedded into the "cup shape" of a leaf. That, as far as I know, is common practice for Lynx Spiders, but it is the first time that I have seen the leaf removed from the plant and strung up on a silk thread. I can only guess that the leaf died and fell from the plant (because of the very dry conditions, at this time of year). So, the spider probably carried the leaf, complete with egg sac, up to a suitable height, above the ground and fixed it, as seen in the photos. Pic #3. A view from the back, showing how well the egg sac is fitted into the "cup shape". Pic #4. Originally, I did not recognise this spider as a Lynx (most Lynx Spider species, that I am familiar with, have longer and more slender bodies), but the eye pattern can be seen in this photo, confirming it to be from the family Oxyopidae and that pointed me in the right direction.
This Common Boxy Lynx Spider was spotted, in the farm. Its egg sac was strung up between two stems of Tropical Whiteweed (Ageratum conyzoides Linn.) known in the Philippines by various names in many dialects. In our local dialect, this plant is called Salunay. Plant information - http://stuartxchange.com/Bulak.html....
Confirmation of presence in Philippines - https://wsc.nmbe.ch/species/24558/Hamata........ Common Name - https://www.mybis.gov.my/sp/63404
Spotted on Apr 9, 2024
Submitted on Apr 11, 2024
4 Comments
awesome
Hi Tom, I found the answer regarding the "egg sacs" of Lynx Spiders - the University of Florida paper exlains it in https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/MIS...)... but now I have another problem. The UF|IFAS paper states that the Lynx makes its egg sac on the underside of a leaf (and show a photo), but I am pretty sure that all of my spottings show the egg sac on the upper surface of the leaf. Maybe this is a regional behavioural difference. After all, the Florida spiders and the Philippine spiders are on opposite sides of the world :-)
Hi Tom, nice to hear from you and, as always, your comment made me think some more about my spotting. I don't really know if the spider carried all that stuff up from the ground. It was just a guess and maybe not a very good one, but that doesn't matter too much. For me, the most important part of your comment was the fact that you used the term "egg sac" which I had mentioned in my Description three times and in my Habitat once. It was only when I saw your comment that I realized..... I don't know if that is the right way to describe the way that a Lynx Spider "contains" its eggs. I know (because I have seen it being done} that a Lynx lays its eggs directly onto the surface of a leaf and then covers them with a thick blanket of silk. On completion of this work, it stands guard over its eggs, until it dies of starvation. I don't know if this creation is properly called an "Egg Sac". I will try to find out. Thanks, Tom..
Quite the large egg sac. To carry it and the leaf is quite impressive.