| Latin Name | Observation date | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Neoscona crucifera | January 05 2025 | Buket Alue Puteh, Aceh, Indonesia |
Neoscona crucifera is a species of spider from the araneidae family which is known as a wheel-shaped web maker, I found this species in a mango orchard on January 5 2025 at around 09.00 am, physically this spider has a medium body size and this is a female spider because its body size is somewhat larger, from several references I have read I found the fact that male Neoscona crucifera spiders have a smaller body size, so I concluded the spider I found a few days ago was female.
The spider's body is filled with fine hairs and the color patterns vary, I noticed that there are two colors that stand out on the spider's body, the first is light brown at the front while dark brown is at the very back of the spider's body, and I also saw a pattern resembling a cross on the abdomen, and I think this pattern is the characteristic of this spider, thus inspiring the Latin name "crucifera" and if translated it means "cross bearer".
Several articles note that the habitat of Neoscona crucifera is very diverse, from forests, plantations to home gardens, and what is unique is that this spider makes webs from night to morning to catch prey, such as small insects that are attracted to the sparkling light emitted from spider web threads spiders, but during the day these spiders are very difficult to find because they prefer to take cover behind leaves or tree gaps to avoid predators.
The main and most prominent skill of Neoscona crucifera spiders is their ability to make complex and functional webs, these webs are not only limited to trapping prey but also become temporary residences for spiders, this spider web is in the form of a radial spiral with a strong outer frame and sticky threads in the middle, which are specially designed by spiders to make the process of trapping prey more effective. When prey is trapped, this spider will approach very quickly to paralyze the prey with poison through a bite.
Another most interesting aspect of these spiders is their ability to repair or remake their webs every night, this is done to ensure the effectiveness of the web in catching prey, this process also shows high adaptability because these spiders can adjust their size and The shape of its web is based on the surrounding environmental conditions, yeah I know Neoscona crucifera is often considered scary by some people, but you need to know that this spider is not at all dangerous to humans.
| Camera used | smartphone |
|---|---|
| Lens | - |
| Photography | Neoscona crucifera |
| Location | Buket Alue Puteh |
| Photographer | @lightofhope |
| Link to original | community |
|---|---|
| Link | https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/257692121 |
| Latitude Longitude | Map | |
|---|---|---|
| =5.080479 | =97.46383 | https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=5.0804793232&mlon=97.4638302997 |