Supporters

If you have a spider photo but don’t know what it is, try joining this Facebook group . 

Rob talks about the amazing biodiversity of the Cooloola Coast.

The collection of venom from deadly species of snakes and spiders is used to manufacture the only Australian antivenoms that save human snake bite and spider bite victims. 

Scott’s dedication to Funnel Web spiders and to the milking program plays a critical role towards the venoms required by BioCSL Limited for the production of antivenoms for terrestrial snakes and funnel-web spiders. 

For drop-off points for the Spider Anti-Venom Program.

To add to his endless dedication to the spider world, Scott is also an approved ‘Spider Identifier’ on a few Facebook spider identification pages,

Ben is a snake catcher at WIRIES,  a volunteer organisation with trained reptile handlers. These dedicated people are volunteers who, in most cases, are employed in full time jobs and rescue and care for reptiles in their own time. For more information,  please visit the WIRES website.

Ben is an Admin on the  Australian Spider Identification Facebook page. With the assistance of approved spider IDers, he, Narelle Murphy  (Admin) and Scott Johnson (Moderator), identify spider photos submitted by members and also give expert advice on the many curious questions asked.

Narelle is a true enthusiast, giving up her spare time to identify spiders on many other Facebook spider identification pages, including the Goldburn Region Spider Seekers.

 “In my early years as a snake catcher and online educator, I realised how disconnected most people are from the natural world. So many people needlessly fear, and even hate, snakes simply due to a lack of understanding. Therefore, I use my images, footage, and specific knowledge of snakes to help people interpret snake behaviour, reduce their fear and understand their function in the environment. If I can help the public to understand and appreciate these extraordinary animals even a fraction of what I do, then I will consider my efforts well rewarded.”

Adam says: “Part of my vision is to be able to bring about not only a team that could respond to reptile relocation call outs within the Peel Region but to help people get a greater understanding of these much maligned critters that make up an important part of our ecosystem.”

Facebook 

Scott and his wife, Tie, own and run Nature 4 You – wildlife demonstrations, removals, consultancy, photography and wildlife apparel.

Tie is a wildlife consultant, photographer and author who works with her husband Scott in their business Nature 4 You. Tie has over 20 years experience working with snakes and other reptiles across Australia and is the collection manager of Nature 4 You. She has written two books, numerous papers and articles on Australian herpetofauna.

Website  |   Facebook   |   Youtube   |   Pinterest    |   Flickr    |   Instagram

Project Maratus is a not-for-profit self funded group undertaking and promoting research into the iconic Australian Peacock spiders. These spiders are “Australia’s mini birds of paradise” with their intricate, often flashy courtship rituals. Little is known about their status in Australia’s environment. The team are the first coordinated approach into investigating their distributions throughout Australia and the habitats they depend upon. This information plays a vital role in understanding their evolution and ecology in our environment.

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Mick says: “I’ve been passionate about reptiles and have been involved with them for around 24 years. My absolute passion is saving as many as I possibly can by spreading awareness to dispel all the untrue myths surrounding them.” 

Mick’s passion for wildlife shines through in his wildlife photography. 

Facebook

Iska recently started a second Facebook group, this one for spider lovers living in the Greater Brisbane region – ‘Brisbane Spiders”.

A recent passion has been to increase his knowledge of spiders but also for a new love, Aussie Paper Wasps –“I love my Polistinae and have been keeping visual updates on a few local nest areas over the last year or so.”

Iska has been kind enough to share his lifetime’s collection of wildlife images with the Critterpedia project and so he takes a very proud position on our Supporter’s page. 

In 2018, Laurence witnessed an unusual species interaction between a leafcutter bee and a wolf spider.

Laurence’s images show a leafcutter bee and a predatory wolf spider sharing and interacting in the same burrow, showing no aggression towards one another.

Laurence’s information was fed into the Atlas of Living Australia’s (ALA) database.  Dr Ken Walker, Senior Curator of Entomology at Museums Victoria, confirmed the images Laurence captured were a world-first, also stating, “Laurence’s observation showcases the value that ALA’s digital infrastructure and citizen scientists can make to biodiversity research and species discovery.” 

You can get in contact with Laurence here.