ARACHNIDA > ARANEAE > Linyphiidae

As mentioned in the introduction, Linyphiidae is by far the largest spider family in Britain represented by no less than 280 species within 120 or so genera, including Agyneta, Drapetisca, Lepthyphantes, Linyphia, Microlinyphia, Neriene, Stemonyphantes, Tenuiphantes, Walckenaeria etc.

The British common name of 'money spider', which is only used in a few countries, comes from the old superstition that if you find one of these tiny spiders on your person it's there to spin you new clothes, which is interpreted as a sign of coming into wealth; elsewhere in the world they're called 'sheet weavers' from the shape of their webs.

The majority of linyphiids are very small and impossible to distinguish without microscopic examination, which is why most photos will simply be captioned as Linyphiidae sp. or occasionally to genus by someone who is familiar with the family. There are a few exceptions with some of the larger and more well-known species, such as Stemonyphantes lineatus (Horse-head Spider), Floronia bucculenta (Chameleon Spider), the two Linyphia species (Hammockweb Spiders), Drapetisca socialis, and a couple of the Microlinyphia and Neriene, that can be identified either in the field or from photos but, from what I understand, they are few and far between.

Linyphia triangularis is a particularly abundant and widespread species that can be readily identified from its distinctive markings. The pale brown carapace has dark marginal bands and a dark median band that splits into two forming a tuning-fork shaped mark just behind the eyes. The female's abdomen is white with variable speckled brown markings that typically form a wide deeply dentated band often with dark edges; the male's abdomen is much slimmer, generally a purplish-brown colour and with no clear pattern.

Updated, Feb.24 (v.4)