Neoscona blondeli
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Blondel's Neoscona Orb-Web Spider | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Female | |
 | |
| Juvenile male | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Araneidae |
| Genus: | Neoscona |
| Species: | N. blondeli |
| Binomial name | |
| Neoscona blondeli | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Neoscona blondeli is a species of spider in the family Araneidae.[2] It is commonly known as Blondel's Neoscona orb-web spider and is an endemic species to southern Africa.[3]
Neoscona blondeli is distributed widely throughout Africa and has been sampled from Eswatini, Botswana, and South Africa.[3]
In South Africa, the species has been recorded from all nine provinces at altitudes ranging from 1 to 2,826 m above sea level. Notable locations include Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, Northern Cape, and Western Cape.[3]
Habitat and ecology
Neoscona blondeli is a very common orb-web species which builds webs in vegetation at night and removes them early in the morning. The species has been sampled from all the floral biomes except the Desert and Succulent Karoo biomes. It has also been found in crops such as avocado, cotton, pecans, pistachio, tomatoes and vineyards.[3]
Description
female
female
female
juvenile female
Neoscona blondeli is known from both sexes. As a very common orb-web species, it constructs webs in vegetation during nocturnal hours, removing them in the morning.[3]
