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Cyclosa sp.
Araneidae; Cyclosa; Cyclosa sp. This spider was recognizable, even from a short distance away, as probably a member of the Genus: Cyclosa. This is partly, but not entirely because of the style of its web (I will return to this in a moment). The characteristic of the web which eliminates the possibility of other spiders is the presence of debris or trash. This accumulation of trash is usually referred to as a web decoration. and can be all clumped together, as in this case, or strung out in a linear style, depending on the species. It is generally accepted that the spider uses this web decoration to hide in or as a distraction to confuse predators. To return to the style of the web, the fluffy or wooly looking pattern which is seen on the webs of many Cyclosa spp. is made of cribellate silk which is not sticky and prey insects will usually ensnare themselves by becoming tangled in the "nano fibres" of this silk. Cribellate silk is not exclusively used by Cyclosa spiders. It can be seen on the webs of others such as Argiope spp. and members of the Family: Uloboridae. In the case of this Cyclosa sp., its web is a basic orb web to which the spider has added a rather crazy, irregular cribellate silk pattern. Others of this genus create an orb web and adorn it with a rather neat and tidy looking cribellate spiral e.g. Cyclosa insulana. This general knowledge has been acquired over the years from reading little snippets here and there and from personal experience and lots of "note-taking". So no citations, but don't worry, I have just checked in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclosa and everything I have said is verified there (except the references to Argiope and Uloboridae).
This Web Debris Spider was spotted on a cyclone fence along the roadside in front of the rice mill. The fence was completely overgrown with all manner of wild climbing foliage and the spider's web was on the inside of the fence, attached to twigs and branches that protruded through the wire links.
Similar spottings from other Project Noah members - https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/15... https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/19...
Spotted on Jan 9, 2017
Submitted on Jul 14, 2022
2 Comments
To: Ava T-B
Thank you for your comment. Of course I will be happy to add this spotting to the Animal Architecture mission. Thank you for suggesting it. I had been adding many of my spottings to a number of missions until about three or four weeks ago because I think that these missions are excellent for focusing our attention on some aspects of biodiversity that we may not have thought of. However, when I started having a look at some of them, the spottings were all so good that I rather felt that my meagre efforts were not always up to a high enough standard. So I stopped adding my spottings to missions, with the intention of returning to supporting them when I have gained a little more experience. I did not want, for example, to send a spotting with a wrong I.D. and I fear I might have already done that once or twice. However, on reflection, I think those who run these missions probably have the expertise to sort out anything of that nature. So you may just have given me the little nudge I needed to make me start sending them some spottings again. Regards, John B.
Please consider adding this spotting to the Animal Architecture mission at http://www.projectnoah.org/missions/8082...