Autumn spiders

First to arrive were the big-jobbies. The saucer-sized black monsters that scuttled like mice across the living room floor and vanished beneath the door, to pop up when I least expected them, such as on the handle of the kitchen drawer I was just reaching my hand towards.

Then came the stripy ones like small humbugs. Then the daddy longlegs spiders that quivered in lofty corners (and beside the loo).

Now they have had their day and in their place, but outside the window, thankfully, are hordes of small, squat ginger ones. Does each different wave reflect the type of prey that is around at that time? The smaller the spid, the teenier the fly? If so, what were the huge ones catching? Hornets? Bumble-bees? Or hapless humans that strayed into the kitchen in the wee small hours, looking for an aspirin, a drink of water, a large scotch, or a can of Raid?