Yesterday when I was walking the marsh, I glanced down and saw a spider web shining a foot or so above the surface of the brown, muddy water. There was a long, skinny insect on the web and my first thought was that this was a spider’s prey, but no spider was visible. I took some photos and did some internet research and was shocked to learn that strange insect is a spider, probably a Long-jawed Orb Weaver spider of the Family Tetragnathidae. Check out Bugguide if you want to learn more about this unusual-looking spider and click on the image to see more details.
Long-jawed Orb Weaver spider
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 