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Comments & ID Thoughts
Appears to have made itself a shell? Like a hermit crab. Will sit in the middle of the row of caught preys and blend in with them.
- Submitted by:
- Submitted: Jun 18, 2021
- Photographed: Jun 18, 2021
- Spider: Unidentified
- Location: Haltom city, Texas, United States
- Spotted Outdoors: Man-made structure (building wall, fences, etc.)
- Found in web?: Yes
- Attributes:
So, it’s some type of orb weaver. I’m not familiar with the species though.
Oh, I found the spider with that little cone on its abdomen. It’s called Cyclosa conica, fittingly…
Incredible, that’s the one alright. Thank you so much. First time seeing one and was amazed at how well it was camouflaged.
The Cyclosa species are really cool in how they hide by creating lines of decoys made of silk and the remains of prey! The decoy spiders even match the colors of the real spiders. It’s incredible to me that they can craft self decoys so well using what prey and debris that comes along. The string of decoys is called a trashline. I felt the trashline of Cyclosa conica and it really felt strange. I wondered how the spider got fishing line on a golf course. It feels that strong! They decoys feel as hard as cherry pits. To find… Read more »
Great job, you got it!
Oops, I messed up on accounting for range! This is Cyclosa turbinata. We use the data on BugGuide.net for ranges in North America. SpiderId.com is sorta a spin-off from that site. They have more detailed info and more years of data.