Garden Pests and Diseases: is this a friend or foe?, 1 by trois

trois wrote:
Some of these webs are very strong. I can easily see how they could get trapped by the web. The number of times I have had to pluck my hat from one makes me a respector of their strength. I am sure that most do evade the webs as they are very visible, but very young birds that we see every fall could easily make a mistake. In the fall the spiders are at their maximum size.
I also have seen them subdue pygmy shrews that are probably stronger than hummers. This is one that jumped from our pier into the web because of my walking up. The shrew was completely wrapped by the time I could get my camera on and focused.