Monkey orb weaver spider (23893255053)

Description:

Description: Neoscona punctigera, Family: Araneidae Dorsal view of 1cm male spider, facing south, chilling out on Tulsi plant, shot in natural light at high ISO. Neoscona punctigera is a nocturnal orb-weaving spider (Araneidae) found in Asia. It is known by different names which include, monkey orb weaver and ghost spider. It has a hairy body and its legs are covered with spines. They become active and hunt after sunset and hide/rest during the day under leaves, branches etc. This spider has drab brown body with two yellow ventral spots. The spots on its back glow in the dark. The black bands on its legs reflect light too. while its deceptive colour signalling and body spot colouration visually lures prey (specifically moths) at night, the dorsal reflectivity hide it during day (when background is a tree bark) from hymenopteran predators. Many orb-weavers build a new web each day. Generally, towards evening, the spider will consume the old web, rest for approximately an hour, then spin a new web in the same general location. Like most orb-weavers, Neoscona punctigera builds a new web after sunset but consumes it at dawn (since, it is a strict nocturnal predator). While resting, they assume a yogic-like postion that resembles a chilling out monkey and hence the name monkey spider. Spider fighting is a popular blood sport in the Bisaya region of Philippines. Spiders suitable for spider fighting are almost always adult female orb-weavers from the genus Neoscona. Only the spiders coming from this genus are called "derby spiders" or "fighting spiders". The most commonly utilized species is Neoscona punctigera. Occurence: India, Pakistan, Srilanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, China, Australia Synonyms: Afraranea punctigera, Aranea opima, Aranea punctigera, Araneus lugubris, Araneus opimus, Araneus parascylla, Araneus punctigera, Catheistela opima, Epeira ephippiata, Epeira indagatrix, Epeira lugubris, Epeira manipa, Epeira opima, Epeira paviei, Epeira punctigera, Epeira punctigera trabeata, Epeira slateri, Epeira vatia, Neoscona lugubris, Neoscona opima. Date: 15 January 2016, 16:15. Source: Monkey orb weaver spider. Author: arian.suresh from Chennai, India. Camera location 13° 49′ 11.19″ N, 79° 55′ 01.84″ E : View all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap - Google Earth: 13.819776; 79.917178.