The Hammock Weaver

Spiders' webs on gorse, Hayes Common, 8 October 2010.

Photos from the past.  On a misty autumn morning, fine droplets of water cling to spider silk, revealing the huge number of webs on the gorse. This photo is from 2010; I haven't taken a better one of this phenomenon since. But a year ago I took some shots of the creature that makes all these webs; the Common Hammock-weaver, Linyphia triangularis.

Spider, Linyphia triangularis, Common Hammock-Weaver.  Orchid Bank, High Elms Country Park, 15 September 2011.

You can see the distinctive tuning-fork mark on its thorax. This spider weaves horizontal platform webs with strands running up to the foliage above. A flying insect that hits those strands might fall onto the platform below; and underneath it, the spider waits. It can quickly run along the underside and bite its prey through the web. The spider can deal effectively with substantial prey ... This one is in the same place I took the top photo.

Spider, Linyphia triangularis, Common Hammock-weaver, dealing with a relatively large fly.
Hayes Common, 22 September 2011.