Characteristics of spider assemblages of subtropical rice paddy fields in the Yaeyama Islands, Japan

•Spiders in subtropical paddy fields on Yaeyama Islands Japan were surveyed.•1489 individuals of 42 species in 13 families were collected over 3 years.•Tetragnathidae, Araneidae and Thomisidae were the most abundant families.•Species composition in Yaeyama is similar to that in tropical paddy fields in Asia.•A valuable insight into spider diversity in subtropical paddy was obtained.