Click here for the full sized image.
Click here for the full sized image.
The animal is around 1" long and wasn't any particular threat because she is clutching her eggs very tightly with her chelicerae (fangs). Despite much poking to put her in a better position for a photo and even crawling all over me for a while she was fairly placid for the photoshoot. She proved to be the perfect mother however, never even considering surrending her most precious egg sack. I eventually put her back in the garden and ensured she had some cover from the sun (and birds).
Inevitably, things going well she'll climb up a bush or plant, spinning a thick white web for her to put her babies in. They'll hatch in there and be safe until the spiderlings reach a suitable size to escape the nest and flee into the real world. During this time they will be guarded by mom, who will hang around the egg sack at night and hide under the bush during the day. Possibly, if I'm lucky I can get some pictures of that as well although, with her disturbance today she might flee to another garden.
