Larinioides cornutus, Furrow Orb Weaver

Common Name: Furrow Orb Weaver

Larinioides cornutus is an orb web spider found throughout the United Kingdom. Females (as illustrated above) generally reach a body length of about 13 mm, males up to 8 mm. It is a variable species with a dark, distinct V-shape on the abdomen above which there are two pincer like markings.

These spiders are most often found near water (indeed this one was photographed on the towpath of a canal), with the web being built between grass or in low shrubbery.

They hide during the day in a silken retreat that opens at the bottom, masked with plant and animal matter and leave it during the night. The web is remade in the evening. The male lives with the female during mating time, which is in autumn, and again in spring. The female produces three to five yellow egg sacs during the summer.

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