Webs in sedges at Railway Dam Greetings fellow Foxies,
Tent web spiders belong to the orb weaver family Araneidae, but do not produce typical vertical circular orb webs. They have non sticky horizontal webs, with a cone shaped arrangement of silken threads above that contains a central silky mass that is used as a retreat, nursery and rubbish dump.
Webs are common in sedges and low shrubs on open country, and are easily seen on dewy mornings
The spider approaches its prey from the underside of the web, and cuts out the piece of web containing its prey to feed.
 Spider waiting below web base These spiders also share their webs with tiny kleptoparasite spiders. |
 Typical web |  Adult female |  Orb weaver abdomen is much larger than the cephalothorax |
A few months ago I noticed that the central silky refuge contained bright green spots, and took one home for closer examination. It was mainly a spiderling nursery with 3 separate egg sacs under a very tough silk roof. The green spots are algal colonies (growing on meal remains?). When I slightly opened one of the egg sacs I was greeted by a mass of shed exoskeletons and spiderlings that rushed to repair the gap.
 Central retreat |  Nursery entrance and protective cap |  |