Eerie images show giant web ‘spun by money spiders’ blanketing grass verge for hundreds of yards
THESE eerie pictures show a huge grass verge blanketed by a giant silky web which was mistaken for frost.
Lorry driver Leo Anderson, 54, spotted the astonishing sight on Tuesday morning when he took his break in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire.
Leo said the delicate white web, which was spread across a grass verge, went on for 'hundreds of yards' - and at first, he thought it was frost.
The reason behind the web is not known, but bug experts believed it could have been created by money spiders, which are also known as 'sheet weavers'.
Suzanne Burgess, manager of Buglife Scotland wasn’t certain what species of spider made the huge web but thought it could be money spiders, from the family Linyphiidae, as they are known to make sheet like webbing.
Leo, from Dunecht, Aberdeenshire, said: "I've never seen that before, I was quite amazed.
"I was on my break then just spotted it by the side of the road and had to take a picture.
"I didn't have a clue what it was, I just grabbed my phone and started taking pictures.
All about Money Spiders
Belonging to the Linyphiidae family, money spiders are very common in Britain.
The family is one of the largest found in the UK, making up more than 40 per cent of all the spiders found in the country, with over 270 species, according to the .
Money spiders are tiny, under 5mm long.
The spiders spin sheet webs to catch their prey, which consist of horizontal sheets with guide threads both above and below the web.
Those threads deflect their prey into the web where the spider waits patiently.
Money spiders can often be found in your garden, usually spinning its web in dense shrubs and dwarf conifers.
The spider got its name as they can occasionally get caught in your hair, which was used as a sign that the person would come into money.
For extra good luck you are supposed to spin the spider around your head by its web before letting it go.
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"It was on the grass verge and went on for hundreds of yards.
"When I first saw it I thought it was frost but then I realised it wasn't that cold.
"When I got up close I was like 'wow'."
