Box kite spider

Box kite spiders (Isoxya) is a genus of Afrotropical orb-weaver spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1885. Like the spiny orb-weavers they have six prominent (but short) spines on their abdomen. They are small spiders, measuring 3 to 7 millimetres (0.12 to 0.28 in) across.^[1] Isoxya have a sclerotised (or porcelain-like) abdomen which is typical of the Gasteracanthinae.^[1]

Box kite spiders
I. tabulata
I. cicatricosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Araneidae
Genus:	Isoxya Simon, 1885
Type species
I. cicatricosa (C. L. Koch, 1844)
Species
17, see text

Description

See also: Glossary of spider terms

These spiders have a carapace that is usually as wide as it is long. Their abdomen is brightly decorated with yellow, red or black and white patterns. The dorsal part is hardened to form a rigid scutum bearing large spots and depressions, often prolonged laterally and posteriorly in spine-like extensions.^[2]

The spinnerets are surrounded by a sclerotised ring. Legs are relatively short. The eight eyes are in two rows (4:4). Males are much smaller than females and differ in color and shape.^[2]

Lifestyle

During the day box kite spiders can be found in large orb-webs usually made high between trees. The web is usually decorated with small silk tufts. The egg sacs are covered with silk and they attach it to vegetation.^[2]

Species

As of September 2025^[update], this genus includes seventeen species:^[3]

• Isoxya basilewskyi Benoit & Emerit, 1975 – Rwanda, DR Congo
• Isoxya cicatricosa (C. L. Koch, 1844) – Central, East, Southern Africa, Yemen (type species)
• Isoxya cowani (Butler, 1883) – Madagascar
• Isoxya kochi (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1877) – West, Central, East Africa
• Isoxya mahafalensis Emerit, 1974 – Madagascar
• Isoxya manangona Agnarsson, Starrett, Babbitz, Bond, Gregorič, Raberahona, Williams & Kuntner, 2023 – Madagascar
• Isoxya milloti Emerit, 1974 – Madagascar
• Isoxya mossamedensis Benoit, 1962 – Angola, South Africa
• Isoxya mucronata (Walckenaer, 1841) – Sudan, DR Congo, South Africa
• Isoxya nigromutica (Caporiacco, 1939) – East Africa
• Isoxya reuteri (Lenz, 1886) – Madagascar
• Isoxya semiflava Simon, 1887 – West, Central Africa
• Isoxya somalica (Caporiacco, 1940) – Somalia
• Isoxya stuhlmanni (Bösenberg & Lenz, 1895) – DR Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa, Eswatini
• Isoxya tabulata (Thorell, 1859) – DR Congo, Malawi, Tanzania, Angola, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa, Eswatini
• Isoxya testudinaria (Simon, 1901) – West, Central, East Africa
• Isoxya yatesi Emerit, 1973 – South Africa