''Acusilas coccineus'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

in the family

Araneidae Orb-weaver spiders are members of the spider family Araneidae. They are the most common group of builders of spiral wheel-shaped webs often found in gardens, fields, and forests. The English word "orb" can mean "circular", hence the English name ...

, found from India and China to Indonesia (the Moluccas). In India particularly, it has been known by the

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

''Phonognatha vicitra'' Sherriffs, 1928, but this is based on a misidentification. In India, it is found in woodlands and among shrubs. It is a small orb-weaver. The spider is distinguished by having a curled leaf at the center of its web, in which it shelters. The curled leaf also shelters eggs.

Appearance

The body length varies from 5mm up to 10mm. Their bodies are fat and oval shaped with long tapered legs.

Web

The web, with its shelter at the center is easily identifiable. The leaf curling spider cleverly weaves a leaf or another object into the center of its web as a hide-away from predators. Leaves are twisted along the length to form a funnel. It is an incomplete circle, being open at the top and fanning downwards. The spider uses supporting threads attached to a shrub to suspend its curled-up dry leaf, with the fan-like main web radiating out from the leaf in which the spider hides, with only the tips of its legs visible, feeling for the vibrations of insects colliding with the web. It only leaves its shelter if the prey is stuck in the web, or if the web needs repair. Like other orb weavers, the spider usually rebuilds its web at night.

Distribution

''Acusilas coccineus'' is found from India and China to Indonesia (the Moluccas). Only a few observation in India are known to exist since W.R. Sherriffs in 1928.Sherriffs, W. R. (1928). South Indian Arachnology. Part III. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (10) 2: 177-192. The spider is commonly found in open woodland and forest habitats.

Behavior

Its fangs are small and the spider is timid. Toxicity to humans in unknown. The leaf curling spiders are day-active orb weavers, protecting themselves from predators by hiding inside the shelter. Such leaves may already be partly curled though many are not, and the spider pulls and silks its leaf into a retreat cylinder, silken shut at the top and open at the hub.

References

{{taxonbar, from1=Q1314414, from2=Q2527513 Araneidae Spiders described in 1895