This spider disappears on trees —Meet Australia's shape-shifting spider and it's not your usual creepy crawler

Time of India

20-06-2025

Image: https://x.com/AMAZlNGNATURE
If you thought Australia had already maxed out on bizarre wildlife, think again. The internet is currently obsessed with a spider that looks like it crawled straight out of a Marvel origin story.
It's called the wrap-around spider (scientific name: Dolophones conifera), and it's blowing minds—not because it's venomous or huge, but because it literally changes shape to vanish before your eyes.
Yes, this spider flattens its body and wraps itself around tree branches like it's trying to become one with nature. And it kind of does.
The ultimate hide-and-seek champion
Unlike most spiders that spin a web and sit in the middle like they own the place, the wrap-around spider takes a different route.
During the day, it tucks its legs in and presses itself flat against tree limbs, blending in so perfectly that it basically disappears. If you walked past it, your eyes would slide right over it—as if it was just a little knot in the bark or a leaf shadow.
At night, however, this sneaky little shape-shifter comes alive. It emerges from its bark-hugging pose and weaves intricate webs to catch prey, like a tiny ninja. Then, as the sun rises, it returns to its bark-bed and vanishes again.
It's a spider with a literal day job in stealth.
Not your average eight-legged friend
The wrap-around spider belongs to the orb-weaver family—but it's clearly the weirdo cousin. Its body is uniquely adapted for camouflage, with a flat, disc-like abdomen and textured skin that mimics the grooves and ridges of tree bark. This allows it to hug branches so tightly that predators like birds, lizards, and even curious humans overlook it entirely.
Image: https://x.com/AMAZlNGNATURE
Why does it even do this?
Like most strange animal behaviors, it all comes down to survival.
The wrap-around spider's flattening technique is a superpowered form of camouflage, known as mimesis. While camouflage usually means blending into a background, mimesis is when an animal actively mimics a specific object—like a twig, a leaf, or in this case, tree bark.
This defense strategy helps the spider avoid predators during the daytime when it's most vulnerable. Unlike venomous spiders that rely on being intimidating, the wrap-around spider goes full ninja mode.
Its motto? 'You can't eat what you can't see.'
The wrap-around spider is native to Australia, mostly found in Queensland and parts of New South Wales. But good luck spotting one in the wild—they're nocturnal, shy, and frankly too good at their job.
Nature nerds and bug lovers now have this spider on their must-see lists, but finding one is like trying to find Waldo in a forest of Waldos.
So the next time you're walking through the Australian bush and see what looks like an oddly shaped bump on a branch—take a second look. You might just be looking at one of nature's greatest shape-shifters.