From alien butts to ant mimics, we leafed through the pages of A Field Guide to Spiders of Australia to find some great reasons to admire our eight-legged friends. Salticidae Grayenulla, a tiny Jumping Spider with an uncanny resemblance to Garfield. (Photo: Robert Whyte)
Fear of spiders is learned, but the good news is that fear can also be unlearned, write Robert Whyte and Greg Anderson in their book, A Field Guide to Spiders of Australia . Many of us have felt it: we’ve jerked backwards at the sight of a White Tail in our home, or stopped in our tracks when face-to-face with a Huntsman on the wall. But there is also much to love about our eight-legged friends, and not just because they help keep pests like flies away.