Trashline Spider

Special features: Trashline Spiders get their name from the way they strap food items and waste in a thick silk line running through their webs from top to bottom. This 'trash' probably helps to disguise the spider when it's sitting in the centre of the web.

The colour of the spider can be variable, but the conical shape of the abdomen is quite distinctive (hence the scientific name Cyclosa conica). The male has bulbous palps

Trashline spiders are found in damp woodland frequently on evergreen shrubs.

Scientific name: Cyclosa conica

Size: Head and body 3 to 7mm long

Distribution: Found throughout the UK

Months seen: May to September

Habitat: Woodlands

Food: Flies and other small insects