Review: Field Guide To The Spiders Of South Africa by Ansie Dippenaar-Schoeman

Rating: Buy it ASAP – a bookshelf essential

What is it? Reference (field guide)

Ideal for fans of: A Complete Guide to the Snakes of Southern Africa, by Johan Marais

What makes it special? It demystifies and de-scarifies spiders 

Get it in South Africa from: Struik Nature (Penguin Random House South Africa)

We all know someone who will scream, cry or exclaim loudly when faced with spiders. Often, it's followed by the "ewwwwww, spiders!" dance, complete with nose crinkling and head shaking. 

But not any more.

Ansie Dippenaar-Schoeman and Struik Nature are changing all that. Field Guide To The Spiders Of South Africa will actually make you fall in love with spiders. 

First, you'll start with identification. This guide features a mind-boggling 780 different species of spiders which are all home to the south of sunny South Africa. Once you've identified your new eight-legged friend, you can learn everything about it. And I mean everything. 

• Spider morphology, habitats, mating, common geographic locations, and whether or not they're endangered
• Info on webs - their shapes, how they're built, and why spider silk is freaking amazing 
• How to capture them safely 
• As a bonus, there's also an entire section dedicated to venom (and most importantly, how to treat any bites you might get). 

Of course, all of this information is accompanied by stunning photographs and illustrations that allow you to see all distinguishing features. Moreover, it's vital to add this; the spiders have been styled to look kinda cute. I mean it - this isn't a book of horrors featuring fangs and legs and things being killed in webs. Instead, it's an attempt to make these many-legged friends less intimidating. 

And that's so important, because spiders have several really important roles in nature, too. And you'll discover what those are when you read through this guide (no spoilers here!).

So even if you think you're afraid of spiders, this is a book to consider getting. Not least because you could learn how to avoid them, but because it opens up a whole new world for nature lovers. 

So go on, go on a walk and discover some spiders. Just take your Field Guide To The Spiders Of South Africa with you. 

Field Guide To The Spiders Of South Africa by Ansie Dippenaar-Schoeman is published by Struik Nature, an imprint of Penguin Random House South Africa.