Unidentified

This is Steatoda triangulosa, a Triangulate Cobweaver. I think it is infected with a parasitic fungus. These are not dangerous spiders to people, but their venom is very potent against insects and other spiders. Being in family Theridiidae they make true cobwebs. Cobwebs are much more interesting than they look – that’s why they are effective. They appear to be a random dusty abandoned mess of clumps and strands. I think this is so cool! Insects don’t recognize the web as a web because it doesn’t have an orderly structure. The catch is that there is a silk trapline hidden… Read more »