golden silk orb-weaver spiders

Description:

Female and male (tiny at 12:00 orientation) Nephila sp. spiders photographed through a cyclone/chain-link fence (Mating: see Notes). Nephila spiders vary from reddish to greenish yellow in color with distinctive whiteness on the cephalothorax and the beginning of the abdomen. Like many species of the superfamily Araneoidea, they have striped legs specialized for weaving (where their tips point inward, rather than outward as is the case with many wandering spiders). Their contrast of dark brown/black and green/yellow allows warning and repelling of potential predators to whom their venom might be of little danger. Golden silk orb-weavers are widespread in warmer regions throughout the world, with species in Australia, Asia, Africa (including Madagascar), and the Americas.

Habitat:

Spotted just outside the boundary fence of a school campus which is nestled in the lower foothills of the Cyclops mountains. The campus is surrounded by villages, gardens and disturbed forest.

Notes:

(A photo-essay of the mating ritual of such spiders appears here http://frank.itlab.us/photo_essays/wrapp... )