Web traps

Yesterday, when I walked I became intrigued  by all the spider web traps! I’m easily amused.  Webs were covering areas of the ground creating a spider web mine field.  Webs were numerous between the barbs of the fence! Each web on the ground started in the center like a funnel making a lure to capture dinner.  Webs dotting the barbed wire fence between the strands of wire created a net to capture prey. 

The spiders that build the webs on the ground belong to a group called funnel weavers or grass spiders (Family Agelenidae). They build webs that consist of a flat sheet of webbing with a funnel leading downward near the center. The webs are not sticky and are densely woven and located parallel to the ground. They vary in size but can be quite large, sometimes as wide as 3 feet. The funnel is located near the center of these expansive sheets of silk but in a few cases it is near the edge. The funnel creates a lair and hiding place for the spiders.  They wait under the funnel for dinner to arrive just like door dash for humans. Only female funnel spiders build these webs! They man the kitchen.

Orb weaver spiders build the webs created between the wires of the barbed wire fence! These are the classic webs of circles and spokes, which expand  outward from the center with anchor points. This genius design allows them to capture anything as small as a mosquito to as large as a butterfly. Other common meals include flies, thrips, mites, moths, beetles, wasps and bees. They are not picky eaters and can have ferocious appetites. Their work helps keep insect populations in check. Orb weaver spiders have poor vision and use vibration to know when they have captured prey. 

Watching a spider at work is incredibly fascinating to a simple minded person like me!