Tent web spider (adult female)
The tent web spider (Cyrtophora moluccensis) belongs to the family Araneidae. Adult females measure around 2 cm in length. They have two tubercles on the abdomen and eye-catching cloud-like markings on the posterior part of the abdomen, which make them easy to identify.
Like other species in the genus Cyrtophora, the tent web spider does not build a typical orb web. Rather, it builds a huge “tent web” (up to 50 cm in diameter). Inside the tent web is a horiztonal orb-like structure. The spider hangs from the center of this structure waiting for prey. The outside of the tent web is covered in large amounts of spider silk to form a tent. Between the silk threads are gaps through which prey can fly into the tent and fall into the orb-like structure to become the spider’s food.
