Horizontal Orbweb Spider

Description:

A strikingly coloured orbweb. The dorsal side is shiny silver with black and yellow striping at the posterior of the abdomen. The underside is black and gold. long legs are green and the abdomen has 4 slight nodules.

Habitat:

Native to both New Zealand and Australia. This spider constructs a large horizonal web close to the ground with many threads hanging to the ground in open forest and gardens where it hangs upside down.

Notes:

Some would argue that by hanging upside down in its web, its shiny dorsal surface and dark ventral surface make it hard to be seen by predators and prey alike. Either way, it is one of our more colourful spiders. The red tinge showing in the last image is actually the reflection of the tin shed behind it rather than any pigment in the spider.