Cribellate spider webbing on Prickly Phlox
I found this interesting spider webbing on a stem of Prickly Phlox (Linanthus californicus aka Leptodactylon californicum, Polemoniaceae) in the woods today. I believe the frizzy webbing is the work of a cribellate species of Mesh Web Weaver in the family Dictynidae. The webbing is comprised of very fine threads that are spun into strands like hand-spun wool or chenille yarn, different from ordinary spider webbing. I have photos of similar webbing here, here, and here - not to mention my shot two photos [Back]. There's more info at Wikipedia and a nice article in The Atlantic. Note that the plant is starting to green up even though we've had no rain yet for this season. Arachtober 30b and Happy Web Webnesday! (San Marcos Pass, 30 October 2019)
Cribellate spider webbing on Prickly Phlox
I found this interesting spider webbing on a stem of Prickly Phlox (Linanthus californicus aka Leptodactylon californicum, Polemoniaceae) in the woods today. I believe the frizzy webbing is the work of a cribellate species of Mesh Web Weaver in the family Dictynidae. The webbing is comprised of very fine threads that are spun into strands like hand-spun wool or chenille yarn, different from ordinary spider webbing. I have photos of similar webbing here, here, and here - not to mention my shot two photos [Back]. There's more info at Wikipedia and a nice article in The Atlantic. Note that the plant is starting to green up even though we've had no rain yet for this season. Arachtober 30b and Happy Web Webnesday! (San Marcos Pass, 30 October 2019)