Inside a remote forest that very few people have ever seen, an Australian photographer has captured the first clear image of a rarely observed spider in its natural habitat.
Nick Volpe, alongside fellow naturalist Lucy Kania, has documented nearly 3,000 species of insects during their global travels. However, the vibrant orb weaver, Gasteracantha aciculata, which was led to by villagers in Papua New Guinea’s East New Britain region, stands out as one of their most thrilling discoveries.
“I was absolutely elated,” Volpe shared with Yahoo News. “It’s such a unique-looking spider. It’s mostly all white, but there’s some black, and then the outer edge of the abdomen has this really rich yellow and red colour.”
Photographer holds his breath to snap rare spider
To capture a high-quality image of the spider, Volpe encouraged it onto a sheet of white perspex. With dozens of locals watching, he attempted to focus the lens on the creature. However, orb weavers typically feel safest when crouched on their webs, and this individual was reluctant to stay still once moved.
“I was feeling 100 emotions at once,” Volpe recalled. “Seeing it in the wild, the experience of being guided by local people, and then the spider not behaving—it was a perfect storm.”
“But it’s a storm we’ve encountered before while trying to photograph invertebrates. So I literally held my breath and had full concentration inside the excitement.”
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There are approximately 70 species of Gasteracantha spider found throughout Australasia and Southeast Asia, each displaying distinct colorations and long spines. These spines serve as effective defense mechanisms against predators like birds.
“When birds try to grab them, their abdomen is so spiky with these weird horns, it’s actually really hard for them to digest them,” Volpe explained.
Gasteracantha look similar to Australia’s Christmas or jewel spider, but it is from a completely different genus called Austracantha.
Volpe uploaded his image to the nature app iNaturalist, sparking excitement among online observers. Previous images on the website only showed the spider’s black undercarriage.
“What a stunning discovery! First proper example of this species! Congratulations!” an expert in the Gasteracantha genus wrote in response.
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