The January Spider of the Month (SOTM) is this white-backed pajama spider (Singa albodorsata; Araneidae), photographed by Debbie Taylor in Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal.
Also called striped orb weavers in other parts of the world (or humbug orb weavers by some, due to their resemblance to humbug sweets), these tiny orb weavers (about 3-6 mm in body length) are mostly found in low vegetation, where they spin their tiny orb webs. Debbie added:
“Like most orb weavers, they make their beautiful orb webs before sunset, strung between the long seed grasses of the veld. They hide in retreats during the day, a messy tangled ball of grass and silk at the top of the long seed grasses. Sometimes the top of a seed grass stem is bent over in a loop with the retreat in the middle. They are quite common in the veld around Ladysmith. This Singa was still in her orb web after 9 in the morning, and I was lucky to capture her holding the web under tension with her spider claws.”
The genus was described by Carl Ludwig Koch in 1836. There are 26 recorded Singa species in the world, most of which occur in Asia, with five species from Africa. Two species are recorded from South Africa.
I’m not sure about the etymology of the genus name, Singa. It’s probably a place name and might refer to Singapore. The specific epithet, albodorsata, means “white-backed”, from the Latin albus (white; think albino) and dorsum (back; think dorsal).
Out of 207 people who voted, this photo received 108 (52%) votes. This is Debbie’s second SOTM; the previous one being her photo of the sheepy jumping spider (Oviballus vidae) in 2020. Congratulations, Debbie, and thank you to everyone who voted!