Trashline Orbweaver

Description:

The spider in this photo is a Cyclosa sp. It can be seen, by zooming in to the extreme left cluster on the Trashline, where it is hiding. However, even if the spider could not be seen, the style of this web and its web decoration are unmistakable. Some Cyclosa spp. create a web with a trashline decoration, but do not add a silk stabilimentum. Other spp. do the opposite. They build a web with a silk stabilimentum, but do not add a trashline. When both a trashline and a stabilimentum are present, on the web, that is pretty much the "hallmark" of a Cyclosa spider.

Habitat:

This Trashline Orbweaver was spotted in our backyard. Its web was moored between two Banana plants. Please note, the tree in the background of the photo had nothing to do with the spider web, it just happened to be in amongst a number of banana plants.