Cyclosa conica

Cyclosa Conica
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Suborder	Araneomorphae
Family:	Araneidae
Genus:	Cyclosa
Species	conica
Binomial Name
Cyclosa conica

Cyclosa conica is a small spider with no common name. It is an orb weaver , and it is easily recognized by the way it strings together the dead bodies of insects and other debris and hangs it near the center of its web. It hides on this string of debris, and its natural coloration makes it extremely difficult to see until it moves. One of its defenses against predators is to blend in with this debris and to feign death when disturbed. These spiders are small. The females range from 5.3 mm. to 7.5 mm., and the males range from 3.6 mm. to 4 mm.

(Detail of a leg.)

See: B. J. Kaston, How to Know the Spiders, Dubuque, 1953.