The weaver in the woods

Anyone who walks in the Missouri woods during summer is sure to eventually walk into a spider web. More often than not, it is the spider I have photographed for you here: the web weaver.

She is called the Spiny Orbweaver. Only the female Orbweaver spins a web. The much smaller male does not. There are at least three kinds of orbweavers in Missouri. All are less than a half inch long not including legs.

This spider does not come inside people's homes, preferring to stay in the woods. She hangs a circular web across an animal trail in order to catch small insects like gnats, mosquitoes and sweat bees. To keep from getting her web in your face when hiking, hold a short leafy limb in front of you and spin it slowly to collect the web.