In amongst all the newly emerging dragonflies and damselflies today I noticed these little fellows (body probably 12mm long) hanging from the grasses at the edge of my pond but cannot identify them. I assume they are some sort of water spider but can anyone be more precise?
Thanks for looking.
These are long-jawed orb weavers (family Tetragnathidae) - see
http://arachno.piwigo.com/index?/category/357-tetragnatha_extensa for an example. These spiders typically construct their webs over small bodies of water, preying on insects that either are emerging from the water or that are attracted to water for some reason.
Cheers Flapdoodle
