I'm not sure whether it's more accurate for me to say "I've never seen any of these before", or "I've never noticed any of these before" Spotted in a very shaded area of a local water gardens & taken under less-than-ideal conditions at about 2.30 in the afternoon.

Can one of you knowledgeable guys confirm whether of not this is a communal web?

Interesting. not sure if this is spider web or communal caterpillars although there does not appear to nbe any leaf damage from caterpillars. Some sheet web spiders do build rather large web systems which I don't think are communal. Have seen pics of communal spiders where whole bushes/trees were covered in web.
Brian v.

Thanks for your response, Brian Next time I go, I'll have to look for them again, and look more closely for signs of spiders or caterpillars.