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A Guide to Common Singapore Spiders
by Joseph K H Koh
  Island Cyclosa Spider
Cyclosa insulana (Costa) 1834
 
close-up of orangey female showing strange abdomen
Female
 Classification: Family Araneidae, Orb-Web Spiders.
Habitat: Gardens, waste-land, secondary and primary forests, coastal lands.
Female: 7-11 mm.
Male: 4.5-5.5 mm.
Distribution: Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, China, Japan, Northern Australia.
The colour of this spider can be variable. Its cylindrical abdomen has a tail-like extension, flanked by two lateral humps.

Structurally, Cyclosa spiders can be easily recognised by the characteristic U-shaped demarcation between the raised "head" (the cephalic part of the cephalothorax) and the flat thoracic region.

Spiders of the genus Cyclosa decorate their vertical orb-webs with a band of rubbish made of remains of insects bound in silk. web with debrisThe spider sits in the hub and appears to be a part of the debris, thereby camouflaging itself. The vertical orb-web is decorated by a vertical band of debris through the centre.
web with band of rubbish
Web of Cyclosa confraga (above)
and Cyclosa micula (left)
  From "A Guide to Common Singapore Spiders" by Joseph K. H. Koh
BP Guide to Nature Series published by the Singapore Science Centre and sponsored by British Petroleum
© 2000 Joseph K H Koh