It is found in Asia, Africa, Australia, Costa Rica, Hispaniola, Colombia, and Southern Europe and in 2000, it was discovered in Florida.

C. citricola differs from many of its close relatives due its ability to live in a wide variety of environments.

The difference in C. citricola's web silk stems from physiological variations in its spinning apparatuses, as compared to other closely related species.

[4] Upon Forsskal's death of malaria in 1763, his manuscripts, which included details of the spider, were collected and sent from Yemen back to Denmark by his friend Carsten Niebuhr.

[3] These records were published in 1775 as Descriptiones animalium, avium, amphibiorum, piscium, insectorum, vermium; the spider appeared under the name Aranea citricola.

[7] C. citricola differs from "derived araneoids", which are a part of the superfamily Araneoidea, such as Theridion and Linyphiidae, because it lacks smaller aciniform spigots in their median spinnerets.

The sexual dimorphism present in C. citricola separates them from members of the Araneinae subfamily including Nuctenea, Cyclosa, and Mangora.

Within the argiopine clade, C. citricola is a member of the Cyrtophorinae family, which includes the genera Cyrtophora and Manogea.

Cyrtophorinae's subfamily defining features are its embolus, the palpal bulb's open duct, running in a counterclockwise direction, and its non-adhesive orb-webs.

[6] In Florida, male spiders are black, while females can change the color of their abdomens to match their surroundings and can camouflage in their webs.

[13] Cyrtophora citricola is found in Asia, Africa, Australia, Costa Rica, Hispaniola, Colombia, and Southern Europe.

[2] C. citricola can be found globally, unlike its close relatives that are concentrated in specific parts of the world.

This trait is common in web-building spiders, including Nephila clavipes, N. maculata, and Frontinella communis.

During the hottest portions of the day, the spider will position themselves so that as little surface area of their body is shown to the sun as possible.

[2] Other Araneidae species have a triad complex on their posterior spinnerets which produce a gluey thread material for the webs from the piriform glands.

[1][10] The orb webs appear as a fine mesh curtaining, made of radii and a non-adhesive structural spiral.

The center of these colonies infrequently require repairs, saving the spider the constant investment of respinning the web.

[1] C. citricola typically rests with all of its legs underneath its body when it is not watching over its egg sacs and uses various motions to detect prey and intrusions.

[18] C. citricola also participates in web jerking, an act of quickly pulling the radii with a front leg.

The behavior may allow the spider to accurately find objects in its web, assist in prey location, and transmit signals.

The rate of prey per capita due to web deflection is relatively low and may cause spiders to aggregate together.

[18] C. citricola is active from the middle of summer to the beginning of fall and adults mate between June and September.

[1] If one member of a colonial group senses a nearby predator or prey, they perform a knee jerk on the web.

[15] Invading spiders may come from the colony's periphery, where costs to build webs are often high due to continuous repair and diminished prey capture.

The vibrations between the attacker and the defender continue for a few minutes; however, the invader rarely captures the web and instead it retreats.

[23] C. citricola prefers to select nest sites and create webs in the forks between branches and leaves.

[1] The coloring of the female Floridian spiders allows them to appear as brown, dead leaves when sitting in their webs, preventing potential predators from spotting them.

As a result, some authorities have opted to use high-pressure water sprayers and chemical controls to exterminate colonies.

[10] C. citricola is problematic for many agricultural operations in South America, including coffee and citrus plantations.

It is listed as an important agricultural pest in the Dominican Republic due to its devastating impact on citrus trees.