Even arachnophobes have to appreciate this endemic, non-venomous, eight-legged and tiny wonder: the Happy-face spider, Theridion grallator, or as it is known in Hawaii, nananana makakiʻi. It makes its home on four of the MHI: Oʻahu, Maui, Molokaʻi and the Big Island, and nowhere else in the world. The smiling face sits atop a translucent yellow body, though some lack markings altogether. Interestingly, the patterns on their backs vary from spider to spider, and from island to island. Hanging out on the undersides of leaves, they are protected when it rains and are camouflaged when it's sunny, as light streams through the leaves from above, casting a yellow-green hue. If you are interested in looking for them, you can inspect both native and non-native plants that have dome-shaped leaves that are not hairy, and unlikely to wave about in winds and rain. These spiders hunt at night, when their bird predators sleep. Using the vibrations of the leaf to locate insects, they sneak up upon them and ensnare them. Rare among spiders, they exhibit the social behavior of tending to their young, bringing tenderized catches to them for up to a month. They stay just one short year on this earth, reminding us: don't worry, be happy.
2 Comments
Carol J Kirkley
7/8/2019 12:22:03 pm
This is more of a question. I was wondering why they put this "Happy Face" spider on the U Haul Trucks and the story behind the alien species eating local plants and animals to the point of extinction. It's not the spider's doing is it? Single Handedly Doing this? I look on their website and I'm not getting anywhere, in fact the page they lead you to is just another picture of the spider. Thank you!
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Steven Lee Montgomery
11/28/2021 11:07:30 pm
Wm. P Mull told me Nat'l Enquirer used his pic & caption, then U Haul wrote him to use his photo & caption to uniquely rep. Hawaii.
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