Tree Stump Spider

Description:

Arachnida; Araneae; Araneidae; Poltys illepidus C. L. Koch, 1843 (type). I have only three photos of this spider. I had saved them as "Poltys sp." because they looked like Poltys illepidus, but not close enough to be sure. Then I came across pictures of a female P. illepidus in http://www.findaspider.org.au/find/spide... and that appears to be right.

Habitat:

These spiders were spotted on foliage near the edge of a rice field. The rice was just about ready for harvesting and as usual, at that stage of growth, it was teaming with all manner of insects which in turn were being hunted by many spiders. I know that this Poltys spider does not hunt, but I mention the others just as part of the habitat.

Notes:

The first two photos show the same spider and it was my intention to show only that spider, but when I started this spotting, I made a last minute decision to include the only picture I have of the other spider. This third picture was taken in the exact same place two days earlier and as far as I can tell is identical (in fact, I can't be sure that it is not the same specimen). So I felt it would be O.K. to include it as it gives a different view.