Image: W31- tangle web W31 - tangle web. Web2spider
Identification Guide. - Helen Smith - © Australian Museum -
Tangle webs with long lines always go down to a firm surface
(e.g. ground or log). - Retreat in dense tangle, thimble shaped,
usually under shelter. - Sticky droplets near ends of long lines
only. - The retreat may be of thickly tangled silk and often
contains egg sacs as well as a spider, which hangs upside down.
- The long lines are catching points. Crawling animals get stuck
to the sticky droplets that are near the end of the long lines.
These lines have a weak point just above the substrate so the
line breaks and the elasticity takes the prey up toward the
spider. - Small prey such as ants can get caught in a single
line, but larger prey such as small mammals and lizards can get
caught in many lines.