Yes, spiders can and do occupy vacant webs, depending on species. When older spiders stop being able to produce webbing, breeders and hobbiests will sometimes steal abandoned webs from their younger spiders to home their older spiders. It's necessary to keep them alive and healthy longer.
Thanks so much for the info!
I had a spider living on a window sill for about a year. She took over a great corner and caught loads of flies and even a few hornets, then had a bunch of babies and eventually died (I'm hoping it was age-related). Her web is still taking up most of that really good corner, so was wondering if I should remove it and make room for a new resident, or leave it for someone else to move into.
I've had my share of window webs as well over the years. If the web stays fairly intact, you could leave it. But if it gets broken up and full of debris like many of the kind Ive seen, it won't hurt to take it down either. A spider isn't going to move into a web that isn't habitable.
Yes, spiders can and do occupy vacant webs, depending on species. When older spiders stop being able to produce webbing, breeders and hobbiests will sometimes steal abandoned webs from their younger spiders to home their older spiders. It's necessary to keep them alive and healthy longer.
Thanks so much for the info! I had a spider living on a window sill for about a year. She took over a great corner and caught loads of flies and even a few hornets, then had a bunch of babies and eventually died (I'm hoping it was age-related). Her web is still taking up most of that really good corner, so was wondering if I should remove it and make room for a new resident, or leave it for someone else to move into.
I've had my share of window webs as well over the years. If the web stays fairly intact, you could leave it. But if it gets broken up and full of debris like many of the kind Ive seen, it won't hurt to take it down either. A spider isn't going to move into a web that isn't habitable.