Golden Orb Weaver (Female)

Body length of females up to 40mm, males much smaller, about 7mm. Overall greyish with silvery cephalothorax and black brushes on the legs. Little or no yellow on the legs unlike the very similar Nephila plumipes which also has a raised yellow sternum. The female constructs a large, persistent web with strong strands of golden silk strung between tree branches or other structures. The strong web can trap large prey, sometimes even small birds. Small males tend to occupy the edge of the female's web, sometimes more than one. Rather timid, the female normally flees to the top of the web when alarmed, sometimes it shakes the web in defence when disturbed. There are often strings of spent food parcels or food caches in the web. Kleptoparasites like the Dewdrop Spider Argyrodes antipodianus occupy the web but may not have a negative affect. When present in an area, this spider can be extremely abundant. Bites are possible, but not likely and not known to be dangerous. The species name means edible, Labillardière applied the name after he observed people in New Caledonia eating this spider. Nephila spp. are also eaten in Thailand and New Guinea. ~ Arachne.org.au