Lots of things with legs

Time to catch up on all the busy things we've been doing with things with legs.
Back in week five Jo found this beautiful tunnel web spider and her nest while hunting cockroaches.

Then James brought in some caterpillars after an emergency call from his mum to say all his swan plants at home had been eaten.

A successful transplantation.

Then this stag horn beetle (thankyou Andrew Crowe "which New Zealand insect") turned up in the light trap, with it's antler like antennae that fold up and two rhinoceros horns.

By week 6 we were attempting to make strandbeasts of our own based on Knex designs from the internet. Ollie told me he'd watched it at home millions of times, mum confirmed this and showed us how Ollie animatedly describes them. We all had a go at walking like them. I had a go and making one with the children helping to make the parts and me trying to figure out where they go. Prototype 1 sort of worked, we're now (wk 8)working design 2 which Ollie says I'm not allowed to finish till he gets back. With one leg on it already looks very promosing and I'm certainly learning a lot about building with knex. We may need to buy a motor.

Here's the photo Ollie took (I've cropped it.)

Ollie and Xander test out version 1.

Here's a gum emperor caterpillar that came in, now released onto a tree for the final stages as it kept wandering of the leaves we'd picked.

Jack brought in a male large brown vagrant spider in week 8, I showed him how to be a log not a bird so the spider could walk on him without biting. My favourite spider don't try to pick them up pincer style or they probably will bite and it'll hurt, instead just let them walk on you.

If they get sacred they raise their front legs in warning and may poo (white). These are good signs to put them down, otherwise a beautiful friendly spider that as a wanderer doesn't have a web that gets broken when you get them out to look at.

Jack carried around the mat to show everyone. Not so sure at first Jack now tells me to call him if we find it (I think it's escaped the terrarium we set up for it.)

Even our student teacher Vanessa had a go, first with a little spider we found then our velvety vagrant.

I steady childrens arms and hands to ensure no sudden movement or grabbing actions, and retrieve the spider when it goes to far.

Then one of our veranda spiders caught itself lunch while we watched.

See lots of things with legs.

And lots of kids catching crickets at home with their parents and bringing them in, thank you mums and dads.