Nigma puella

Nigma puella
Dictynid Spider (Nigma puella) catching a small fly (Muscidae)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Suborder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Dictynidae
Genus:	Nigma
Species:	N. puella
Binomial name
Nigma puella (Simon, 1870)
Synonyms
Dictyna puella Heterodictyna puella Dictyna lobensis Dictyna eburnea Nigma canariensis

Nigma puella is a species of spider belonging to the family Dictynidae. It is found in Europe, Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands and parts of North Africa.

Like most members of the family, this is a small spider but the female is striking, with a light green abdomen marked with a bold maroon blotch and a variable amount of barring in the same colour. The male is reddish brown. This species makes a horizontal web over the top surface of a leaf.

References

• Preston-Mafham, Ken (1998). Spiders: Compact Study Guide and Identifier. Angus Books. ISBN 978-1-904594-93-2.
• Platnick, Norman I. (2008): The world spider catalog, version 8.5. American Museum of Natural History.

External links

• Pictures of N. puella