Cyclosa insulana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Common Garbage-Line Web Spider | |
|---|---|
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| female from Zimbabwe | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Araneidae |
| Genus: | Cyclosa |
| Species: | C. insulana |
| Binomial name | |
| Cyclosa insulana (Costa, 1834) | |
| Synonyms | |
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Cyclosa insulana is a species of orb-weaver spider in the family Araneidae. Its distribution ranges from the Mediterranean region eastward to Japan, India to Papua New Guinea, Australia, and parts of Africa including St. Helena, South Africa, and Eswatini.[1]
C. insulana is widely distributed across the warm and tropical regions of the Old World, with records spanning from the Mediterranean to the Philippines and Australia.[2] In the Seychelles, it has been recorded from Mahé and Silhouette Island, though some specimens from this region may represent other closely related species.[2]
Habitat and ecology
The species inhabits multiple biomes at altitudes ranging from 4 to 1593 m above sea level. They make a complete vertical, closely woven orb web in vegetation, about one metre above the ground. The distinguishing character of the web is the vertical stabilimentum in line with the hub. The spider strings together dead bodies of prey and other debris on this stabilimentum. The spider hides in this debris as a defence against predators. This common species is frequently found in sweep net and beating samples, and has been sampled from all the floral biomes. The species has been recorded from crops such as avocado, citrus orchards and tomato fields.[3]
