The July Spider of the Month (SOTM) is this box kite spider (Isoxya sp.; Araneidae), photographed by Nicky Bay in Lunda Sul, Angola, during the Wilderness Project.
Nicky said the following about the find:
“We found a specimen of this Isoxya earlier in the expedition but it was almost expired, so we only had some record photographs. Luckily, another was found on its web within low-lying foliage, as well as the suspected male nearby. This is a healthy female, and like many other gasteracanthines, it fluoresces brightly under ultraviolet!
Olympus EM10 Mark IV, Laowa 50mm 2:1, and Godox MF12 twin flashes triggered by Godox X3, handheld. Flashes on custom 3D-printed mounts, with DIY diffuser.
Big thank you to the kind sponsors and organisers from The Wilderness Project for making this expedition possible.”
It is not clear which species this is. To see the spider under UV light, as well as other angles of the spider, see the link below (see comments):
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10162877132326441&set=gm.27437135562563325&idorvanity=101951926508391
These small (5-7 mm) orb-web spiders are diurnal, meaning they are active during the day.
There are 17 Isoxya species in the world, all found only in Africa and Madagascar (and one species in Yemen). Seven species are found in South Africa.
The genus Isoxya, described by French naturalist Eugène Simon in 1885, basically means “equal spines”, from the Greek “isos” (equal) and “oxys” (sharp or pointed). They differ from the “kite spiders” (Gasteracantha spp.) in having all their spines the same length.
This is Nicky’s fourth SOTM, all within this year and all photographed during the Wilderness Project in Angola. Out of 179 people who voted, his photo received 111 (62%) votes. Congratulations yet again, Nicky! Also, thank you to everyone who voted!