Description

This abundant spider belongs to the sheet-web weaver group, the unique Linyphiidae family. These spiders spin a flat, sheetlike or domed shaped web.

Both the male and female of this species are very small, about 1/5 inch long, and are often found hanging upside down peacefully together in the same web during the summer.

This spider has a brown color. The dark abdomen is longer than it is wide with a white pattern.

Habitat

Hundreds of different sheet-web spiders are found in North America. The Bowl and Doily Spider is found throughout Virginia in shrubbery such as boxwood bushes and holly trees.

Their modified sheet web is bowl shaped with another flat or "doily" web constructed beneath it. The spider lives between the bowl and doily.

Food

Small flying and crawling insects are the prey of the Bowl and Doily Spider.

Many trap lines are constructed above and around the bowl. Insects fly or crawl into the trap lines, tumble into the bowl where the spider bites from below.

The Bowl and Doily Spider then wraps its prey in more silk and saves it for when it wants to eat!

Defense

The sheet of its web protects the Bowl and Doily Spider from predators. The spider hangs upside down between the bowl and doily. If the web is disturbed, it drops off or rapidly runs away.

The bowl with its many trap lines serves as protection from above and the second web or doily protects the spider from below.