''Pasilobus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of orb-weaver spiders first described by

Eugène Simon Eugène Louis Simon (; 30 April 1848 – 17 November 1924) was a French naturalist who worked particularly on insects and spiders, but also on birds and plants. He is by far the most prolific spider Taxonomy (biology), taxonomist in history, ...

in 1895.

Species

it contains thirteen species from Asia and Africa: *'' Pasilobus antongilensis'' Emerit, 2000 – Madagascar *'' Pasilobus bufoninus'' (Simon, 1867) (

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * ...

) – Taiwan, Indonesia (Java, Moluccas) *'' Pasilobus capuroni'' Emerit, 2000 – Madagascar *'' Pasilobus conohumeralis'' (Hasselt, 1894) – Indonesia (Sumatra, Java) *'' Pasilobus dippenaarae'' Roff & Haddad, 2015 – South Africa *''

Pasilobus hupingensis ''Pasilobus hupingensis'' is a species of spider in the orb-weaver spider family Araneidae, found in China and Japan. Females of the genus ''Pasilobus'' construct "Cyrtarachninae#Webs, spanning-thread webs" with only two sectors, making them app ...

'' Yin, Bao & Kim, 2001 – China, Japan *'' Pasilobus insignis'' O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1908 – West Africa *'' Pasilobus kotigeharus'' Tikader, 1963 – India *''

Pasilobus laevis ''Pasilobus'' is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1895. Species it contains thirteen species from Asia and Africa: *'' Pasilobus antongilensis'' Emerit, 2000 – Madagascar *'' Pasilobus bufoninus'' (Simon, 186 ...

'' Lessert, 1930 – Congo *''

Pasilobus lunatus ''Pasilobus'' is a genus of Araneidae, orb-weaver spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1895. Species it contains thirteen species from Asia and Africa: *''Pasilobus antongilensis'' Emerit, 2000 – Madagascar *''Pasilobus bufoninus'' (Si ...

'' Simon, 1897 – Indonesia (Java, Sulawesi) *'' Pasilobus mammatus'' Pocock, 1898 – Solomon Is. *''

Pasilobus mammosus ''Pasilobus'' is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1895. Species it contains thirteen species from Asia and Africa: *'' Pasilobus antongilensis'' Emerit, 2000 – Madagascar *'' Pasilobus bufoninus'' (Simon, 186 ...

'' (Pocock, 1900) – West Africa *''

Pasilobus nigrohumeralis ''Pasilobus'' is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1895. Species it contains thirteen species from Asia and Africa: *'' Pasilobus antongilensis'' Emerit, 2000 – Madagascar *'' Pasilobus bufoninus'' (Simon, 186 ...

'' (Hasselt, 1882) – Indonesia (Sumatra)

Prey capture

Females of the genus ''Pasilobus'' construct "triangular spanning-thread webs". The webs have only two sectors, making them appear triangular. Widely spaced threads with sticky drops span the three radii of these webs. One end is attached in such a way that it readily breaks free. When a prey item is caught on one of these threads, the line parts at this end and the prey hangs from the web until it is hauled up by the spider. Pasilobus web

The prey caught are almost entirely

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

s. Normal araneid orb webs are not effective at capturing moths, since their loose scales detach, allowing the moth to escape. Like other genera in the subfamily

Cyrtarachninae Cyrtarachninae is a subfamily of spiders in the family Araneidae (orb-weaver spiders, araneids). The group has been circumscribed in several different ways. It originated as the group Cyrtarachneae, described by Eugène Simon in 1892. The group wa ...

s.l., ''Pasilobus'' species produce special sticky drops that adhere to moths. Some members of the subfamily have been shown to produce mimics of the

sex pheromone Sex pheromones are pheromones released by an organism to attract an individual of the same species, encourage them to mate with them, or perform some other function closely related with sexual reproduction. Sex pheromones specifically focus on ind ...

s that female moths emit to attract males, and it has been speculated that ''Pasilobus'' may do this as well.

References

Araneidae Araneomorphae genera Spiders of Africa Spiders of Asia Taxa named by Eugène Simon {{Araneidae-stub