Lace Weaver Spider

Lace weaver spiders get their name from the unusual, irregular web they construct, made from a special type of silk called cribellate silk that has a fine, wispy, blue-gray woolly texture rather than the sticky strands used by many other web-building spiders. This lacy silk tangles the legs and bristles of insects that wander into it, holding them fast without the need for a sticky coating.

These spiders are typically found tucked into a silk-lined retreat within a crevice, such as tree bark, a wall gap, or under loose stones, from which irregular lace-like threads radiate outward to catch prey. They are common, often overlooked inhabitants of gardens and outbuildings across much of Europe and parts of Asia.

Lace weavers belong to the family Amaurobiidae and are recognized by arachnologists for their combed cribellate silk production, a more ancestral form of prey capture compared to the purely sticky silk used by many modern orb-weavers.

• Stocky, robust body with mottled brown and gray patterning providing camouflage against bark
• Produces a distinctive bluish or grayish, woolly-textured lace web rather than smooth sticky silk strands
• Retreat is typically hidden within a crevice, with irregular threads radiating outward across the surface
• Eight eyes in a compact cluster typical of the family
• Lookalikes include other crevice-dwelling spiders, but the fine, lacy, non-sticky web texture is a strong distinguishing feature

Lace weaver spiders are common on tree bark, garden walls, fences, sheds, and other outdoor structures across Europe, favoring crevices and gaps that provide a secure daytime retreat. They are frequently found around human dwellings, particularly in temperate gardens and woodland edges.

The spider remains hidden in its silk-lined retreat during the day and emerges, often at night, to repair or extend its irregular lace web and to seize prey that becomes entangled in the fine cribellate threads. Prey, typically small ground and flying insects, is quickly wrapped in silk once captured. The web's woolly texture works mechanically by snagging on insect claws and bristles rather than relying on adhesive stickiness.

Females lay eggs within a silk sac kept inside the sheltered retreat and, in some species, guard the sac closely. Spiderlings hatch and remain briefly near the nest before dispersing to build their own small retreats and webs nearby. Growth proceeds through several molts over roughly a year, with many temperate species overwintering as juveniles within sheltered crevices before maturing the following season.