LEAP YEAR: The Polkadot jumping Spider (Opisthoncus polyphemus) was first noticed in Northland in 2000 and has now spread as far as Waikato.

THE BLEND: A male flower spider (Diaea ambara), which absushes insect prey in foliage and flowers.

BIG MAMA: A female garden wolf spider (Anoteropsis hilaris) with spiderlings on her back

Spiders are the gardener's friend, eating all manner of bugs and pests. They're a dab hand at cleaning up fly corpses after a swatting session too.

Most of the time, you won't even know they're there: they avoid human contact and will run a mile if they sense a person approaching.

Written by Cor Vink, curator of natural history at Canterbury Museum, the guide covers anatomy, feeding, reproduction, predators and classification, before devoting an entire page to each species.

Special mention is due to Waikato-based photographer Bryce McQuillan – aka "Spiderman" – whose images lovingly detail the wonder of these small beasts. Here's a selection of the spiders featured in the book.

A Photographic Guide to Spiders of New Zealand, Cor J Vink, photography by Bryce McQuillan. Published by New Holland, $25.99