I did wonder if I should title this post "Shelob Lives Here" !
As I walked down an alleyway in Farnham yesterday, on the way back to my mechanics to pick the car up, I saw this bush. It looked either dead or dormant, and was totally blanketed in spider webs. It was crazy how much web there was covering it, the whole bush looked white in the sunlight.
None of the other plants in the area had been affected like it. It was around lunchtime, so we're not talking about the effect of webs covered in early morning dew. Actually, these webs were strong enough to have withstood some heavy rain earlier that day, and you can still see a few drops caught up in the webs.
It was a wonder of nature, and also something which arachnophobes would probably find quite terrifying. Were those webs made by a single big energetic spider, or a whole swarm of smaller ones ? Who knows, but it obviously works !
I actually think that spiders are the "good guys". They do a lot to keep assorted flying pests under control.