Happy Face Spider - University of Hawaii

Partnerships for Reform through Investigative Science and Math
NATIVE ANIMALS
IN AN AHUPUA’A
Concepts
Camouflage
HCPS III Benchmarks
SC. 1.4.1
SC. 1.5.2
Duration
1 hour
Source Material
PRISM
Ohia Project- Put On A
Happy Face!
Vocabulary
Spider
Camouflage
Environment
Predator
Happy Face Spider
Summary
Students create their own paper cutouts of the happy face spider.
They place the spider on leaves with different colors, and discuss the
functions of the “happy face” patterns on their spiders.
Objectives
• Students will be able to describe natural history facts about the
happy face spider.
• Students will be able to explain how this spider camouflages
itself with the patterns on the body.
Materials
(Per student)
Coloring materials
Glue
Scotch tape
Scissor
The templates for spider and leaf
3 to 4 real leaves (1 set/group)
Color pictures of happy face spider (pgs. 9-11; for the whole class)
Color pictures of colored leaves (pgs. 5-6; for the whole class)
Making Connections
Students may relate to camouflaging when they need to hide and be
inconspicuous. We used to play hide-and-seek during summer camp.
After dinner we all gathered and played in the open field. When it
was my turn to hide, I would curl up in a ball and stay still. In the
dark, my silhouette looked like a rock in the field. Many times
people walked pass without noticing me right next to them.
Teacher Prep for Activity
Print out the happy face spider and leaves templates from
supplemental materials for each student. Collect 3 to 4 real leaves for
each group of students.
Background
The happy face spider, nananana makaki’i (in Hawaiian), is one of
the 132+ native spider species in Hawai’i. Most of the spiders got to
Hawai’i by ballooning, a method of dispersal when a spider is carried
by wind on a strand of web. Ever since the ancestor spiders arrived
the Hawaiian Islands, they established territories and many species
have adapted to their specific environment. For example, some
researchers believe that the patterns on the happy face spider were
developed to avoid predators. The patterns of happy face spiders
Happy Face Spider
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Partnerships for Reform through Investigative Science and Math
may resemble the rust spots on the underside of a leaf, where they mainly live. Found only on
islands of Oahu, Molokai, Maui and Hawai’i, the happy face spider is very small and elusive.
They are about half an inch big, including the length of their legs. During the day they hide in
the vegetation and only come out to hunt insects at night. Happy face spiders are also known to
guard their eggs and care for their young (see pictures in Supplemental Materials). Since their
discovery in the early 1900’s, little study has been done on them until the 1970’s. Still,
researchers and natural resources managers have very limited knowledge on the happy face
spider, mainly due to their nocturnal (active at night) behaviors. To conserve this group of native
spiders, more studies on the life history, habitat requirement, and biology are needed in the future.
Vocabulary Explained
Spider is a group of predatory invertebrate (animals without spine) animals that are related to
insects (but spiders are not insects).
Camouflage means hiding in disguise.
Environment is everything that surrounds us.
Predators catch and eat other animals.
Procedure
1. Introduce vocabulary.
2. Divide the class into pairs. Give each group of students 3 or 4 real leaves. Have them
observe carefully the patterns of the veins and color spots. Ask students to discuss with their
partners if all the leaves looked the same. If not, what were the differences?
3. Show students an example of the enlarged leaf (see pgs. 5-6) and ask what kind of animal
would live on a leaf. And what would such animal look like. Have them discuss with their
partners.
4. Show the class a picture of a happy face spider (see pgs. 9-11) and ask students if they
recognize it. Point out some features on the spider (eyes, mouth, body and legs). Tell
students that happy face spiders are small (half an inch) animals that live on the underside of
the leaves.
5. Tell students that the “happy face” is the natural pattern on the spider’s back. Show students
pictures of different types of pattern (see pg. 11). Ask students what they think the pattern is
for. Have them discuss with their partner.
6. Tell students that they are going to make their own happy face spider. Distribute the
templates for spider and the leaves to each group. Each student gets a spider and two sides of
a leaf.
7. Instruct the class to color both sides of the leaf and glue two sides together. Then instruct the
class to color the spider according to its natural color and cut the spider out along the dotted
line.
8. After students completed their spiders and leaves, have them place their spiders on the leaves
to see how the spiders blend in with the leaves. Encourage students to place the spiders on
different leaves and different side of the leaves. Ask them to discuss how their spiders blend
with different types of background.
9. Gather the class and discuss as a group:
• How does the happy face pattern help the spider hide under the leaves?
• Why do happy face spiders need to hide?
• What are the spiders hiding from?
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Partnerships for Reform through Investigative Science and Math
Assessments
Students discuss their ideas with partners and as a class.
Models of happy face spider and leaf completed.
Resources
For Teachers
Department of Land and Natural Resources. 2005. Hawaii’s Comprehensive Wildlife
Conservation Strategy. Honolulu, HI.
o There is a section in the conservation strategy that talks about native spiders in Hawaii.
Howarth, F.G. & W.P. Mull. 1992. Hawaiian Insects and Their Kin. University of Hawaii Press,
Honolulu, Hawaii.
Ramsay, C.R. & C. Johns. 1993. Hawaii's Hidden Treasures. National Geographic Society,
Washington, D.C.
Kaopuiki, S. & B. Wagstaff. 1994. Peter Panini's Children's Guide: The Living Treasures of the
Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiian Island Concepts, Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii.
Scott, S. 1991. Plants and Animals of Hawaii, Bess Press, Honolulu, Hawaii.
“Aloha- spider style!” Understanding Evolution. 2008. University of California Museum of
Paleontology. Last retrieved on October 2008 from
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/_0_0/happyface_01.
o This website talks about the variation in the happy face patterns and some brief natural
history on happy face spider.
“Happy Face Spider.” Hawaii Biological Survey’s Good Guys and Bad Guys. 2006. Bishop
Museum. Last retrieved on October 2008 from http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/goodbad/spider.html.
o This website talks briefly about the happy face spider. It also has information on other
native and introduced animals.
For Kids
How Pono the Happy Face Spider Found His Smile
(http://library.thinkquest.org/J002043/index.htm)
o This website is made by fifth and sixth grade students and talks about conservation of
Hawaii’s native animals. Students at first grade level can explore this website with an
adult.
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Partnerships for Reform through Investigative Science and Math
1) Color the spider yellowish green or light green and cut it out along the dotted line. Color the
space around the spider in green (color that is similar to a leaf)
Example
An example of a completed happy face spider
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Partnerships for Reform through Investigative Science and Math
Underside
Leaf #1
Happy Face Spider
5
Topside

Leaf #2
Partnerships for Reform through Investigative Science and Math
Underside
Happy Face Spider
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Topside

Partnerships for Reform through Investigative Science and Math
Leaf template:
Underside
Happy Face Spider
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Partnerships for Reform through Investigative Science and Math
Leaf template:
Topside
Happy Face Spider
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Partnerships for Reform through Investigative Science and Math
Photo by Forest & Kim Starr
(http://www.hear.org/starr/hiinsects/images/thumbnails/html/theridion_grallator.htm)
Happy Face Spider
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Partnerships for Reform through Investigative Science and Math
Happy Face Spider
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Photo by Darlyne Murawski (http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photos/best-pod-november-07/spider-guarding
eggs_pod_image.html)

Partnerships for Reform through Investigative Science and Math
Happy Face Spider
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Photos taken from “Aloha- spider style.” Understanding Evolution. 2008. University of California Museum of
Paleontology. .