Neoscona subfusca

Common Neoscona Orb-Web Spider
Female
Male
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Araneidae
Genus:	Neoscona
Species:	N. subfusca
Binomial name
Neoscona subfusca (C. L. Koch, 1837)[1]
Synonyms[2]
List of synonyms Atea subfusca C. L. Koch, 1837 Epeira dalmatica Doleschall, 1852 Epeira blanda Blackwall, 1865 Epeira impedita L. Koch, 1867 Epeira illibata Simon, 1870 Epeira perplicata O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872 Epeira limans Thorell, 1875 Epeira subfusca Lebert, 1877 Epeira radulans Pavesi, 1883 Aranea nigrita Thorell, 1899 Aranea submodesta Strand, 1906 Araneus mesonauta Simon, 1907 Araneus occidaneus Simon, 1907 Araneus arganicola Simon, 1909 Aranea restiaria Tullgren, 1910 Aranea artifex Tullgren, 1910 Araneus dalmaticus Lessert, 1910 Aranea dalmatica Strand, 1915 Araneus hoffmanni Schenkel, 1937 Neoscona albobitriangulosa Caporiacco, 1939 Araneus artifex Caporiacco, 1940 Araneus perplicatus Caporiacco, 1940 Neoscona perplicata Caporiacco, 1941 Neoscona immodesta Caporiacco, 1941 Araneus granatae Caporiacco, 1941 Neoscona artifex Caporiacco, 1947 Araneus tullgreni Caporiacco, 1947 Neoscona wiehlei Caporiacco, 1949 Araneus airensis Denis, 1955 Araneus subfuscus Fuhn & Oltean, 1969 Neoscona parva Schmidt, 1973 Araneus granatai Brignoli, 1983 Neoscona dalmatica Morano & Ferrández, 1986

Neoscona subfusca is a species of spider in the family Araneidae.^[2] It is commonly known as the common Neoscona orb-web spider.^[3]

Etymology

The species name subfusca means "somewhat dark" in Latin.

Distribution

Neoscona subfusca is distributed widely in Africa, Southern Europe, and the near East. In South Africa, the species is very abundant and known from all nine provinces, occurring in more than 40 protected areas at altitudes ranging from 1 to 2,826 m above sea level.^[3]

Habitat and ecology

This medium-sized species makes orb-webs in vegetation at night and removes the web early in the morning and rests on plants. The species has been sampled from all the floral biomes. It was also sampled from crops such as avocado, citrus, grapefruit, macadamia, pecan and pistachio orchards, pine plantations, cotton, tomatoes and vineyards. Neoscona subfusca is also associated with the bark of Vachellia xanthophloea trees in Ndumo Game Reserve and Ochna pulchra trees in Nylsvley Nature Reserve.^[3]

Description

See also: Glossary of spider terms

• 
  female
• 
  female
• 
  male
• 
  immature

Neoscona subfusca is known from both sexes. These are medium-sized spiders measuring 4.5-10.5 mm in body length.^[3]

Conservation

Neoscona subfusca is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide geographical range. There are no significant threats to the species. The species has been sampled from more than 20 protected areas.^[3]

Taxonomy

The species was described by C. L. Koch in 1837 as Atea subfusca from Greece. It was revised by Grasshoff in 1986.^[4]

References

1. Koch, C.L. (1837). "Übersicht des Arachnidensystems. Heft 1". C. H. Zeh'sche Buchhandlung, Nürnberg: 39. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.39561.
2. "Neoscona subfusca (C. L. Koch, 1837)". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
3. Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N.; Webb, P. (2022). The Araneidae of South Africa. Version 2: part 3 (Ne-Z). South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. pp. 15–17. doi:10.5281/zenodo.6326991. Retrieved 21 September 2025. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
4. Grasshoff, M. (1986). "Die Radnetzspinnen-Gattung Neoscona in Afrika (Arachnida: Araneae)". Annalen Zoologische Wetenschappen. 250: 1–123.