Tree Stump Spider

Description:

This spider had constructed its web under a Mango tree. The upper moorings were attached to the lower branches and twigs of the tree and the lower moorings were anchored to the branches of Tropical Whiteweed. So, the centre of the web (the hub), where the spider was sitting, was just about 5 ft. above the ground. This would normally be a very convenient height for picture taking, but the lower branches and foliage, of the Mango Tree, made it impossible to get the camera in a position which would allow the flash to reflect on the spider silk of the web. This reflective effect, which helps to show the web detail, is best achieved in bright sunlight, but the pictures were taken at night, in total darkness because this spider makes its web at dusk and disassembles it at dawn. During daylight hours it hides in the foliage. However, the little that can be seen of the web, really just the hub, looks similar to the one in https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/20....... a spider of the same species (but a variant form) spotted nearby on the previous night.

Habitat:

This Tree Stump Spider was spotted in the farm. It had moored its web on the lower branches of a Mango Tree (Mangifera indica Linn.), commonly known as Mangang-kalabau in the Philippines. Plant information - http://www.stuartxchange.org/Mangga.html......

Notes:

In https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstrea........ it is mentioned that "most Australasian species are rather variable in the shape and coloration of the abdomen". If you compare the spider in the above photos with the one in - https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/20........ you can see great similarity and also considerable variation, It is all very confusing.