Australian
Screen

Teacher’s notes

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This clip shows presenter and narrator Densey Clyne in the Australian bush, talking about trapdoor spiders and then seeking and finding a trapdoor spider’s burrow, along with trapdoor. The clip depicts the trapdoor, parts of the burrow and close-up shots of the spider itself. Music in horror-film style accompanies close-up scenes of the spider seeking and then catching its prey.

Educational value points

• Trapdoor spiders are among the roughly 2,000 native species of spiders that have been documented out of an estimated 10,000 species that may exist in Australia. Most of the documented species can be found in the eastern and southern regions of Australia. Despite the fear that spiders inspire and the dangerous reputation of Australian spiders, only two species are capable of causing death in humans, the funnel-web spider and the red-back spider, and no deaths have been recorded from a spider bite in Australia since 1981.

• Reference is made in the clip to spider venom, which almost all spiders possess for the purpose of subduing their prey. Spider venoms are made up of various chemicals. Some chemicals are toxins that attack the nervous systems of insects, thus immobilising them. Some break down the victim’s tissues so the spider can ingest a liquefied meal. Spiders occasionally use their venom against humans, usually when the spider is trying to defend itself. While many spiders are not able to penetrate human skin with their fangs, those that can occasionally inflict painful and, in rare cases, dangerous bites.

• The rugose trapdoor spider, one of several species of spider collectively referred to as 'trapdoor’ spiders, is the focus of the clip. Trapdoor spiders live in a burrow with a 'door’ at the entrance. The rugose trapdoor spider is confined to semi-arid woodlands in south-western Australia. These large spiders vary in colouration from dark brown to black. The female may be up to 30 mm in body length, and has an abdomen with a flattened, shield-like end. If predators venture down into her burrow she drops head-down into its narrowest section and 'plugs’ it with her abdomen. Like all trapdoor spiders, this species is threatened by land clearance and habitat loss.

• Webs of Intrigue is an example of the work of Densey Clyne, naturalist, author and photographer, and Jim Frazier, cinematographer–director. Their successful collaboration began in 1972 when they formed Mantis Wildlife Films. Two 1975 documentaries, Garden Jungle and Aliens among Us, researched and written by Densey Clyne (1926–) and filmed by Jim Frazier, were shown on Australian television and subsequently sold to the BBC and networks in Germany, Japan, the USA and the Middle East. David Attenborough asked the pair to work on his series Life on Earth and The Living Planet. Clyne and Frazier’s work, including Webs of Intrigue, has won numerous international awards.

• Densey Clyne, naturalist and filmmaker, presents and narrates the film with obvious respect and affection for her subjects. Clyne’s professional life as a naturalist and filmmaker goes back to the meticulous observations she made of wildlife in her own suburban garden in Sydney. She taught herself macrophotography and in 1972 teamed up with cinematographer Jim Frazier, with whom she made award-winning documentaries about the insects and spiders in her garden. They went on to develop a highly successful style of natural-history documentary making that relied on Clyne’s research and writing skills. She has received many awards for her books, photographs and documentaries and has appeared on the television series Burke’s Backyard.

• The clip shows the skill of macrocinematographer and technical innovator Jim Frazier. It was while working on wildlife films for David Attenborough in the 1980s that Frazier became frustrated with the limitations of the lenses then available to him. He determined to develop a lens that could keep very small objects such as spiders and insects in focus while also keeping their world, the background, in focus. The Frazier lens has been hailed as one of only two significant developments in lens technology since the invention of the camera, the other being the zoom lens.

• The music from Webs of Intrigue was produced by Supersonic, a music collective featuring the talents of composer–filmmakers Paul Healy, Antony Partos and Andrew Lancaster. This group produces music for commercials, theatre, dance and film. The soundtrack for Webs of Intrigue features sound interwoven with music and draws on the horror movie tradition to create a sense of menace to accompany the visuals of spiders. Antony Partos received the Australian Guild of Screen Composers Award for Best Music in a Documentary for Webs of Intrigue.

• Webs of Intrigue was directed by one of Australia’s most established wildlife and science filmmakers, Paul Scott. Scott achieved an honours degree in biology and several film qualifications from London University before moving to Australia in 1984 to work on wildlife documentaries. Some of Scott’s directorial credits include Australia’s Marine World, Devil Diary, Huon Pine – The Oldest Living Tasmanian, Koalas – The Bare Facts and Heaven’s Breath.

• The producer of Webs of Intrigue, Roger Whittaker, is a documentary producer–director. His company Roger Whittaker Media has produced some 30 television documentaries, some of which have screened worldwide and received numerous awards. Whittaker’s collaboration with Paul Scott began with the very successful 25-min A Bird’s Eye View – The Kookaburras, which was televised in many countries.

Densey Clyne in the field.
Densey Clyne Among the inhabitants are the trapdoor spiders, best known for their skilled burrowing. Their burrows are so well camouflaged they are remarkably hard to see, unless you know where to look. Most spiders live for only a season or so but the spider I am looking for could have lived safe and sound in its burrow for more than 20 years. Somewhere on this little patch of ground there is a secret door, a door with the best kind of security – it is virtually invisible. It is the hinged lid of a trapdoor spider. Let us see if she is home. At this time of day, there is no risk of the spider jumping out – it is down at the bottom, probably wondering who has lifted the lid on its hiding place. Like all good security doors, it is tight enough to keep the spider’s enemies out.

A trapdoor spider’s burrow, then a trapdoor hunting.
Densey Clyne A trapdoor spider’s burrow can be more than a metre deep. It is lined with silk, perhaps for the spider’s comfort. At night, the spider can detect the vibrations of a passing insect with its feet, sensing with incredible accuracy whether a passer-by is a potential meal. All spiders are carnivorous and most kill their prey with venom, injected through their fangs. These spiders can go without food for months if necessary but on a good night, some strikes it lucky.