Neoscona, known as spotted orb-weavers and barn spiders, is a genus of orb-weaver spiders (Araneidae) with more than 100 described species. It was erected by Eugène Simon in 1895 to separate these from other araneids in the now obsolete genus Epeira.
Name The name Neoscona was derived from the Greek , meaning "spin", and , meaning "reed".
Distribution They have a mostly pantropical distribution and one species, Neoscona adianta, has a palearctic distribution.
Only eight of the more than 100 species can be found in North America.
Description Neoscona species are among the most common spiders in North America and are found throughout most parts of the world.
There are large variations in the dorsal patterns and coloration of the abdomen, even in a single species. Most have a light color with wavy edges along the mid-line, and darker swirls either side of that. Ventral abdominal patterns may consist of a dark area bordered by white, roughly forming a square. In adults the pattern can be faded. The center of the abdomen is dark bordered on the sides by white spots.
Neoscona can be difficult to distinguish from species of Araneus without close examination of the carapace. Neoscona have a characteristic dorsal groove on the carapace that is parallel with the long axis of the body. The dorsal grooves of Araneus are transverse or angular, though they are sometimes so small that they appear as dimples on the dorsal surface.
The leg formula of Neoscona is 1243: the first are the longest, the second are second longest and the third are the shortest. The largest eyes are the anterior medians, next or subequal are posterior medians and the secondary eyes are slightly smaller.
The webs are usually vertical with about twenty radii and an open hub at the centre. Some species have been recorded as retreating to a leaf during the day.
Diversity
Species
, this genus includes 112 species and eleven subspecies:
Neoscona achine (Simon, 1906) – India, China Neoscona adianta (Walckenaer, 1802) – Europe, North Africa, Central Asia, Russia (Europe to Far East), China, Korea, Japan Neoscona adianta persecta (Schenkel, 1936) – China Neoscona alberti (Strand, 1913) – DR Congo, Rwanda, Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa Neoscona albertoi Barrion-Dupo, 2008 – Philippines Neoscona aldinei Barrion-Dupo, 2008 – Philippines Neoscona amamiensis Tanikawa, 1998 – Japan Neoscona ampoyae Barrion-Dupo, 2008 – Philippines Neoscona angulatula (Schenkel, 1937) – Kenya, South Africa, Madagascar, Seychelles (Aldabra, Assumption) Neoscona arabesca (Walckenaer, 1841) – North, Central America, Caribbean. Introduced to Nepal, China (type species) Neoscona bengalensis Tikader & Bal, 1981 – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh Neoscona bihumpi Patel, 1988 – India Neoscona biswasi Bhandari & Gajbe, 2001 – India Neoscona blondeli (Simon, 1886) – Africa Neoscona bucheti (Lessert, 1930) – Democratic Republic of the Congo Neoscona bucheti avakubiensis (Lessert, 1930) – Congo Neoscona bucheti flexuosa (Lessert, 1930) – Congo, Yemen Neoscona byzanthina (Pavesi, 1876) – Spain, France, Italy, Romania, Balkans, Greece, Turkey, Russia (Caucasus), Iran Neoscona cereolella (Strand, 1907) – Congo, East Africa, Madagascar Neoscona cereolella setaceola (Strand, 1913) – Central Africa Neoscona cheesmanae (Berland, 1938) – Vanuatu Neoscona chiarinii (Pavesi, 1883) – Cameroon, DR Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, South Africa Neoscona chongzuoensis X. X. Zhang & F. Zhang, 2011 – China Neoscona chrysanthusi Tikader & Bal, 1981 – Pakistan, India, Bhutan Neoscona crucifera (Lucas, 1838) – North America. Introduced to Hawaii, Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands Neoscona decolor (L. Koch, 1871) – Australia (New South Wales, Victoria), Fiji Neoscona dhruvai Patel & Nigam, 1994 – India Neoscona dhumani Patel & Reddy, 1993 – India Neoscona domiciliorum (Hentz, 1847) – United States Neoscona dostinikea Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 – Philippines Neoscona dyali Gajbe, 2004 – India Neoscona elliptica Tikader & Bal, 1981 – India, Bangladesh, China, Thailand, Laos Neoscona enucleata (Karsch, 1879) – India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Sumatra Neoscona facundoi Barrion-Dupo, 2008 – Philippines Neoscona flavida Kim, Lee & Yoo, 2019 – Korea Neoscona flavopunctata (L. Koch, 1871) – Fiji Neoscona floriata (Hogg, 1914) – Indonesia (New Guinea) Neoscona fuscinotum (Strand, 1908) – Togo Neoscona goliath (Benoit, 1963) – Ivory Coast Neoscona govindai Biswas & Raychaudhuri, 2013 – Bangladesh Neoscona granti (Hogg, 1914) – New Guinea Neoscona hirta (C. L. Koch, 1844) – Ivory Coast, DR Congo, Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Eswatini Neoscona holmi (Schenkel, 1953) – China, Korea Neoscona huzaifi Mukhtar, 2012 – Pakistan Neoscona inusta (L. Koch, 1871) – Taiwan, China, Philippines, Indonesia, (Sumatra) Neoscona isatis Zamani, Marusik & Šestáková, 2020 – Iran Neoscona jindoensis Kim, Lee & Ji, 2016 – Korea Neoscona jinghongensis Yin, Wang, Xie & Peng, 1990 – China Neoscona kabiri Biswas & Raychaudhuri, 2013 – Bangladesh Neoscona kisangani Grasshoff, 1986 – Congo Neoscona kivuensis Grasshoff, 1986 – DR Congo, South Africa Neoscona kunmingensis Yin, Wang, Xie & Peng, 1990 – China Neoscona lactea (Saito, 1933) – Taiwan Neoscona leucaspis (Schenkel, 1963) – China Neoscona lipana Barrion-Dupo, 2008 – Philippines Neoscona maculaticeps (L. Koch, 1871) – Japan, Samoa Neoscona madagascarica (Strand, 1908) – Madagascar Neoscona marcanoi Levi, 1993 – Cuba, Hispaniola Neoscona mellotteei (Simon, 1895) – China, Korea, Taiwan, Japan Neoscona menghaiensis Yin, Wang, Xie & Peng, 1990 – China Neoscona molemensis Tikader & Bal, 1981 – India, Bangladesh, Philippines, Indonesia Neoscona moreli (Vinson, 1863) – Africa, Madagascar, Seychelles, Réunion, Mauritius. Introduced to the Caribbean, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina Neoscona mukerjei Tikader, 1980 – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh Neoscona multiplicans (Chamberlin, 1924) – China, Korea, Japan Neoscona murthyi Patel & Reddy, 1990 – India Neoscona nasidae Biswas & Raychaudhuri, 2013 – Bangladesh Neoscona nautica (L. Koch, 1875) – Asia and Pacific islands. Introduced to the Americas and Africa Neoscona notanda (Rainbow, 1912) – Australia (Queensland) Neoscona novella (Simon, 1907) – Equatorial Guinea (Bioko), South Africa Neoscona oaxacensis (Keyserling, 1864) – United States, Peru, Galapagos Neoscona odites (Simon, 1906) – India Neoscona oriemindoroana Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 – Philippines Neoscona orizabensis F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1904 – Mexico Neoscona parambikulamensis Patel, 2003 – India Neoscona pavida (Simon, 1906) – Pakistan, India, China Neoscona penicillipes (Karsch, 1879) – West, Central Africa, South Africa Neoscona piaoyi Mi, Wang & Li, 2024 – China Neoscona platnicki Gajbe & Gajbe, 2001 – India Neoscona plebeja (L. Koch, 1871) – Fiji, Tonga, Tuvalu (Funafuti), Austral Is. (Rapa) Neoscona pratensis (Hentz, 1847) – Canada, United States Neoscona pseudonautica Yin, Wang, Xie & Peng, 1990 – China, Korea Neoscona pseudoscylla (Schenkel, 1953) – China Neoscona punctigera (Doleschall, 1857) – Réunion, India, Myanmar, China, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Philippines, New Guinea, Australia Neoscona quadrigibbosa Grasshoff, 1986 – Central Africa, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini Neoscona quincasea Roberts, 1983 – Cabo Verde, DR Congo, Rwanda, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Seychelles (Aldabra, Assumption) Neoscona rahamani Biswas & Raychaudhuri, 2013 – Bangladesh Neoscona rapta (Thorell, 1899) – Sub-Saharan Africa. Introduced to St. Helena Neoscona raydakensis Saha, Biswas, Majumder & Raychaudhuri, 1995 – India Neoscona rufipalpis (Lucas, 1858) – Cape Verde, St. Helena, Africa, Yemen Neoscona rufipalpis buettnerana (Strand, 1908) – Cameroon, Togo Neoscona sanghi Gajbe, 2004 – India Neoscona sanjivani Gajbe, 2004 – India Neoscona scylla (Karsch, 1879) – Pakistan, Nepal, China, Russia (Far East), Korea, Japan Neoscona scylloides (Bösenberg & Strand, 1906) – Russia (Far East), Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan Neoscona semilunaris (Karsch, 1879) – China, Korea, Japan Neoscona shillongensis Tikader & Bal, 1981 – Pakistan, India, China Neoscona simoni Grasshoff, 1986 – Central Africa Neoscona sinhagadensis (Tikader, 1975) – India, Pakistan, China Neoscona spasskyi (Brignoli, 1983) – Caucasus (Russia, Georgia, Armenia), Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan Neoscona stanleyi (Lessert, 1930) – Congo Neoscona strigatella (Strand, 1908) – East Africa Neoscona subfusca (C. L. Koch, 1837) – Southern Europe, St. Helena, Africa, Turkey, Middle East, Ukraine, Caucasus, Russia, (Europe) Neoscona subfusca alboplagiata Caporiacco, 1947 – Tanzania Neoscona subfusca pallidior (Thorell, 1899) – Equatorial Guinea (Bioko) Neoscona subpullata (Bösenberg & Strand, 1906) – China, Korea, Japan Neoscona tedgenica (Bakhvalov, 1978) – Turkmenistan Neoscona theisi (Walckenaer, 1841) – Cyprus, Israel, Caucasus (Georgia, Russia), Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Philippines, China, Indonesia, Japan, Australia. Introduced to Seychelles, Pacific Is. Neoscona theisi carbonaria (Simon, 1909) – Vietnam Neoscona theisi savesi (Simon, 1880) – New Caledonia Neoscona theisi theisiella (Tullgren, 1910) – West, Central, East Africa, Mozambique, South Africa, Eswatini, Yemen Neoscona theisi triangulifera (Thorell, 1878) – New Guinea Neoscona tianmenensis Yin, Wang, Xie & Peng, 1990 – China, Korea Neoscona triangula (Keyserling, 1864) – Cape Verde, Africa, India Neoscona triramusa Yin & Zhao, 1994 – China Neoscona ujavalai Reddy & Patel, 1992 – India Neoscona usbonga Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 – India, Philippines Neoscona utahana (Chamberlin, 1919) – United States, Mexico Neoscona vigilans (Blackwall, 1865) – Sub-Saharan Africa, Oman, Iran, Pakistan, Japan and New Guinea Neoscona wuding Mi, Wang & Li, 2024 – China Neoscona xishanensis Yin, Wang, Xie & Peng, 1990 – India, China Neoscona yadongensis Yin, Wang, Xie & Peng, 1990 – China Neoscona yptinika Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 – India, Philippines Neoscona zhui X. X. Zhang & F. Zhang, 2011 – China
References
External links Comparison of larger male orb-weavers of the United States and Canada at BugGuide N. crucifera and N. domiciliorum by the University of Florida