Pirate Spider

Description:

White spider with long, hairy legs and black spots. The cephalothorax has stripes and abdomen has a brown pattern. There was a smaller spider under the web. It turns out that this species of spider will take over an existing web so I'm guessing the small spider was the original creator. "The first pair of legs are much longer than the last pair of legs, even more so than R. eutypus. also I've read the distance between the front edge of M. hesperus cephalothorax and the anterior medial eyes is about half of the distance between the anterior and posterior medial eyes." - StephenJoseValle at BugGuide

Habitat:

Blackberry bush in backyard

Notes:

"Mimetidae usually hunt by picking at the strands on their prey's web to simulate the movements of either a trapped insect or a potential mate. When their prey comes to investigate, they are instead captured and eaten. Some mimetids have been observed to feed on insects as well." - Wikipedia