For Anyone Interested in the Wildlife of the U.K.
Money Spiders
Identify It > Spiders Section > Money Spiders >
Scientific name: Linyphiidae Family
Size: Head and body 1mm to 7mm long
Distribution: Found throughout the UK
Months seen: All year round but more frequently in summer
Habitat: Woodlands, hedgerows, meadows, fields, parks, gardens
Food: Flies and other small invertebrates
Special features: This is the common name given to around 250 species of tiny UK spiders. In fact Money Spiders make up about a third of all the spiders found in the UK. This should be reassuring for arachnophobes since most Money Spiders are less than 3mm long.
In most cases they have grey or black bodies, although some do have distinctive markings. Identifying individual species usually requires close examination with a microscope, but a few can be identified with a hand lens.
These are the spiders which often land on your clothes in summer (said to bring fortune and good luck) because they travel through the air on strands of silk, picked up by the wind.
One species of Money Spider, Lepthyphantes tenuis, is believed to be the commonest spider in the UK. At between 2 and 3mm long it's usually found in low growing vegetation and leaf litter.
Money Spiders usually make a small sheet web and then position themselves underneath the web.
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