The Wildlife of
Croome

 
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Spiders - The Nursery Web Spider

First seen on Thursday 18th May 2017 at Croome

These spiders are around 15mm long (plus legs). The 'Nursery Web' refers to the fact that the female spider carries her eggs around in a silk cocoon, and just before they hatch she builds a silk tent for them, which she guards. Rather than catch prey in a web, these spiders just wait for insects to walk past them and then they sprint after them. I've seen them do this - they are very fast! They can often be seen with their front two pairs of legs held together. They are usually found in low vegetation such as nettle beds, and geraniums. They are very common in the autumn.