This year that species has been essentially absent. Instead, we have seen only a much smaller species, which I now think is probably Parasteatoda tepidariorum, the "Common House Spider".
Today the reason for the switch became evident: it seems that the little ones are eating the bigger ones!
https://spiderid.com/spider/theridiidae ... idariorum/ reports that:
I notice that the small spider has apparently attacked only the knee joint of one leg, yet the large spider is obviously dead as a doornail. I am reminded of other reports of spider predators who attack legs, with the outcome that either the intended prey quickly self-amputates the attacked leg, or it succumbs to the attacker. Clearly this one has done the latter.This species is quite the athlete, often subduing prey that is much, much larger than itself. We have personally witnessed prey to include other spiders such as the foldingdoor spider, Antrodiaetus pacificus, and even small lizards. Guarisco (1988) documented this spider feeding on a Sphodros fitchi, a species of purseweb spider.
Crop from Canon EOS R7 with Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L macro IS USM lens, 1/25 second, f/11, ISO 800, handheld, Topaz Sharpen AI.
--Rik
