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Golden Orb-Web Spider; Fly

Nephila clavipes; Musca sp.

Description:

Golden Orb-Web Spider: The spider will bite only if held or pinched, and the bite itself will produce only localized pain with a slight redness, which quickly goes away. On the whole, the bite is much less severe than a bee string. Typically, the webs are made in open woods or edges of dense forest, usually attached to trees and low shrubs, although they may be in the tops of trees or between the wires of utility lines. Prey consists of a wide variety of small to medium-sized flying insects, including flies, bees, wasps, and small moths and butterflies

Habitat:

Warmer regions of the Americas, which can be found from Argentina to the United States, which also includes Brazil. I found this specimen in a forest, in a mountainous region.

Notes:

I saw this spider and, suddenly, a fly caught in its web. In the first photo, the spider uses its hind legs to help "hold" the fly in the web. On the fourth photo, the spider is already draining the fly.

1 Species ID Suggestions

bayucca
bayucca 11 years ago
Golden Orb-web Spider
Nephila clavipes Nephila clavipes


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4 Comments

LeonardoMB
LeonardoMB 11 years ago

Truth... Well, thanks for the correction, and, sorry to have confused with a "Leucage sp."!

bayucca
bayucca 11 years ago

Re-check is always a good idea ;-)...!

LeonardoMB
LeonardoMB 11 years ago

Oh! Thanks for the correction "bayucca"! I will check and rename/reclassify. ;)

bayucca
bayucca 11 years ago

I think this one too large for being a Leucauge sp., in my eyes this one is Nephila clavipes, female.
http://www.jaxshells.org/8252.htm

LeonardoMB
Spotted by
LeonardoMB

São José do Rio Pardo, São Paulo, Brazil

Spotted on Feb 11, 2013
Submitted on Feb 11, 2013

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