Isopeda leishmanni
Distribution: Reported from Western Australia and the southern states of Australia.
Description: This spider has a body length of approximately 35 millimetres.
Notes: We have seen this spider paralysed by a Great Orange Huntsman Wasp, Cryptocheilus fabricolor. The wasp was dragging the spider to a nesting burrow where the wasp would lay an egg. The larval wasp will eat the still-living spider and emerge from the burrow after pupating. The advantage of having a paralysed, but living, spider is that the meal (spider) stays fresh and doesn’t start to rot or decay until it dies.
We have photographed this spider in November and December.
References: Atlas of Living Australia https://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:biodiversity.org.au:afd.taxon:81c91e98-3175-4dd0-b0bf-1629dc6c91eb
Identification courtesy of David Knowles and Cael Gallery.
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