Skip to main content

Giant Golden Orb Weaver

Nephila pilipes

Published on Project Noah
Zoom
NominateNominate for Wildlife Photograph of the Month
reportFlag Spotting

25.0345, 121.404

Field Notes

Description:

AKA the Northern Golden Orb Weaver, these spiders are one of the biggest spiders in the world. The females can grow up to an impressive 20 cm in length!
Interestingly, instead of egg sacks being hung in the web, Golden Orbs dig a pit, which is then camouflaged with plant debris or soil.

Habitat:

Subtropical mountainous area, hot and humid, thick brush and trees, close to running water.

Notes:

The female featured in this series of photos was about 13 cm, and boy was I shaking when I was shooting her.
I did try to find information about what the yellow globules are on the web, but didn't find anything about it. Anyone know the reason for that?

Reference Links:

Nephila pilipes

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (3)
sandytrailslvr
Hi, Wesley! Hmm...I am a mixture of those too except for Spain. I live in Bradenton, Florida, USA. I am wondering if you teach English there....
Wesley Oosthuizen
Hi there! Yes, a very large spider. I've seen bigger here, but this was the closest to me and in the best light that I've found so far. Golden orbs seem to favour blending into their backgrounds and this choose darker areas out of direct sunlight to do so...well at least that seems like the trend here in Taiwan. I'm from South Africa, but am a mixture of English, Irish, Welsh, Dutch, German, French and Spanish. Where are you located?
sandytrailslvr
Ni hao, Wesley! Thanks for following me! Very nice shot here! Amazing spider! Very big! Are you from the Netherlands, South Africa or Taiwan? :) I have one ancestor from the Netherlands! It is fun to see the animals from Taiwan! :)

Spotted for Missions

Mission
International Spider Survey
Mission
Animals with Warning Colors
Mission
Nature in Yellow
Mission
NWF: Watch for Wildlife!
Mission
2015 Best Wildlife Photo

Tags

Photographed
PublishedOctober 16, 2015

Community Sponsor

Butterfly
Become a Community Sponsor and Help Grow our Global Movement!

Accelerate our Mission to Photograph 
Every Species in the World!

Butterflies icon
Become a Community Sponsor

Wildlife Community

Wildlife Community

Join a worldwide community passionate about wildlife and nature!

Join Project Noah

Nature School

Nature School

Transform your green space into a curiosity-creating nature classroom!

Visit Nature School

Wildlife Game

Wildlife Game

Defend wildlife throughout the jungle in thrilling nature game!

Play Baboon

Nature & Conservation Organizations

Brands & Mission-Focused Companies