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Arigope Aurantia
From Wiki: 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. One species, N. clavipes, occurs in the United States of America, where it ranges throughout the coastal southeast and inland, from North Carolina to Texas.
Nephila spiders are the oldest surviving genus of spiders, with a fossilized specimen known from 165 million years ago.
This is not Nephila edulis. Those are native to Australia/New Guinea/Calcedonia. This is Argiope aurantia.
Spotted on Aug 31, 2013
Submitted on Sep 25, 2013
