Insects and Spiders - Arachnids : Spider Webs and Holes
Sometimes spiders engage in something called web "ballooning." They release several strands of silk which catch them up into the air. Then the spider can travel to another location. Sometimes when a number of spiderlings launch together, the strands can end up looking like a grid of webbing, as in this and the next photos. Once when we were kayaking on Suisun Slough, the sky was filled with long silky threads, all being blown above us by the wind. It was incredible!
Add some dew and the ballooned webs show up even better!
Food delivered to your doorstep!
I'm not sure why sometimes there are wads of spider silk. I thought this was a piece of paper until I reached to move it out of the way and found that it was webbing, not paper.
Sometimes the web changes from being a food-catcher to a trash dump.
Notice all of the leftover inedible insect parts.
I'm not sure what this started out as, but it ended up as a trash pile.
All of the little black bits are probably frass, or insect droppings.