''Parawixia dehaani'', known in Australia as the abandoned-web orb-weaver, is a species of orb weaver spider from the family Araneidae which is widely distributed in Australasia and eastern Asia. It is common in gardens, leading to it sometimes being known by the name common garden spider. The specific name is sometimes spelt ''dehaanii''.

Description

The female ''Parawixia dehaani'' is a large, dark brown spider with variable patterns on the abdomen. The most noticeable field characteristic is the triangular abdomen having corners with sharp spikes.

Phylogeny

Close relatives

It has a close relative ''

Parawixia bistriata ''Parawixia bistriata'' is a spider species found mainly in South America. It is known to have social foraging behavior. Due to its complex social system, it can live in habitats with various resource levels. Recently, its social behavior has bee ...

,'' which is mainly found in South America.

Distribution

The species is found from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It has also been recorded in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Habitat

''Parawixia dehaani'' is found in gardens, disturbed areas and nearby bushland.

Biology

''Parawaixia dehaani'' is

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

and feeds mainly on

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

s. During the day the spider shelters under a leaf in the vegetation. It builds a vertical orb web with an open hub, which often looks damaged, with sections missing, hence the Australian common name, abandoned-web orb-weaver. When disturbed the spiders falls to the ground and plays dead with its legs retracted. Bats have been recorded as being captured by this spider.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2446835 Araneidae Spiders of Asia Spiders of Australia Spiders described in 1859 Taxa named by Carl Ludwig Doleschall