Cyclosa Menge, 1866 (Araneidae) Orb-Weavers Build Stabilimenta That Resemble Larger Spiders

George Olah; Phillip J. Torres; Aaron F. Pomerantz; Richard Kirby; Simon Baxter; Juan Grados; Lawrence E. Reeves

doi:10.1002/ece3.72371

Cyclosa Menge, 1866 (Araneidae) Orb-Weavers Build Stabilimenta That Resemble Larger Spiders

George Olah^*, Phillip J. Torres, Aaron F. Pomerantz, Richard Kirby, Simon Baxter, Juan Grados, Lawrence E. Reeves^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Orb-weaving spiders are known to create stabilimenta—silk situated at particular locations of the web. While anecdotal reports and popular media have long suggested that some spiders arrange debris in their webs to resemble a larger spider, this behavior has not been formally documented in the scientific literature. Here, we provide the first scientific record of this unique behavior in two orb-weaving spiders (Cyclosa spp., Araneidae) from the tropical forests of Peru and the Philippines. We report that these spiders construct stabilimenta composed of detritus and silk, arranging the debris in the web into a shape that visually resembles the silhouette of a larger spider. This structure may serve as a “decoy” that serves an anti-predator function of misdirecting or repelling the attacks of some predators. Video abstract: https://youtu.be/GDySHFRXbCE.

Original language	English
Article number	e72371
Number of pages	8
Journal	Ecology and Evolution
Volume	15
Issue number	11
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.72371
Publication status	Published - Nov 2025

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10.1002/ece3.72371Licence: CC BY

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title = "Cyclosa Menge, 1866 (Araneidae) Orb-Weavers Build Stabilimenta That Resemble Larger Spiders",

abstract = "Orb-weaving spiders are known to create stabilimenta—silk situated at particular locations of the web. While anecdotal reports and popular media have long suggested that some spiders arrange debris in their webs to resemble a larger spider, this behavior has not been formally documented in the scientific literature. Here, we provide the first scientific record of this unique behavior in two orb-weaving spiders (Cyclosa spp., Araneidae) from the tropical forests of Peru and the Philippines. We report that these spiders construct stabilimenta composed of detritus and silk, arranging the debris in the web into a shape that visually resembles the silhouette of a larger spider. This structure may serve as a “decoy” that serves an anti-predator function of misdirecting or repelling the attacks of some predators. Video abstract: https://youtu.be/GDySHFRXbCE.",

keywords = "decoy spider, Peru, Philippines, predator defense",

author = "George Olah and Torres, \{Phillip J.\} and Pomerantz, \{Aaron F.\} and Richard Kirby and Simon Baxter and Juan Grados and Reeves, \{Lawrence E.\}",

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doi = "10.1002/ece3.72371",

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AU - Olah, George

AU - Torres, Phillip J.

AU - Pomerantz, Aaron F.

AU - Kirby, Richard

AU - Baxter, Simon

AU - Grados, Juan

AU - Reeves, Lawrence E.

PY - 2025/11

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AB - Orb-weaving spiders are known to create stabilimenta—silk situated at particular locations of the web. While anecdotal reports and popular media have long suggested that some spiders arrange debris in their webs to resemble a larger spider, this behavior has not been formally documented in the scientific literature. Here, we provide the first scientific record of this unique behavior in two orb-weaving spiders (Cyclosa spp., Araneidae) from the tropical forests of Peru and the Philippines. We report that these spiders construct stabilimenta composed of detritus and silk, arranging the debris in the web into a shape that visually resembles the silhouette of a larger spider. This structure may serve as a “decoy” that serves an anti-predator function of misdirecting or repelling the attacks of some predators. Video abstract: https://youtu.be/GDySHFRXbCE.

KW - decoy spider

KW - Peru

KW - Philippines

KW - predator defense

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DO - 10.1002/ece3.72371

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JF - Ecology and Evolution

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ER -

Cyclosa Menge, 1866 (Araneidae) Orb-Weavers Build Stabilimenta That Resemble Larger Spiders

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