Have you recently spotted a spider peeking out from a brown, curled-up leaf in your garden?
Chances are you’re sharing your yard with the leaf-curling spider, Phonognatha graeffei, a fascinating member of the orb-weaving spider family.
This spider – found in each state and territory in Australia – builds its orb web in plants and places in it a special custom-built hiding spot: a curled up leaf.
Why and how do they curl the leaves?
To make their leafy retreats, these spiders use silk to lift a leaf up from the ground and into their orb web.
Using their legs, they then carefully curl it up and secure it with silk in a funnel or cone shape. They weave this curled leaf into the web using more silk.
