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Golden Orb Weaver with egg sac. Note tiny male at top of picture.
Photograph copyright: ozwildlife - all rights reserved. Used with permission.
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Spiderlings inside egg sac. Note the bright golden colour of the egg sac.
Photograph copyright: ozwildlife - all rights reserved. Used with permission.
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This is a close-up of one of the spiderlings. The body length would only be about 1mm long.
Photograph copyright: ozwildlife - all rights reserved. Used with permission.
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Smallish Golden Orb Weaver in web. This one was in a suburban patio. The Golden Orb Weavers are very common around backyards where they are obvious in the centre of their large golden-tinged webs.
Photograph copyright: ozwildlife - all rights reserved. Used with permission.
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Golden Orb Weaver molting. The moult is nearing completion with only the legs to go. The next photograph shows the moult completed.
Photograph copyright: ozwildlife - all rights reserved. Used with permission.
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Golden Orb Weaver moulting. The legs are now free and it hangs to dry by a thread.
Photograph copyright: ozwildlife - all rights reserved. Used with permission.
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SPIDER FACTS |
Description
The female Golden Orb Weaver is a large spider with grey body and black and yellow banded legs. The male is much smaller and brown or reddish-brown in colour. The female builds a large vertical web with golden threads. The spider remains in the web all day.
Size
female 20-40mm, male 6mm
Habitat
Builds large yellow web strung between tree branches or onto electricity poles; the males tend to occupy the edge of the female's web
Food
Insects such as flies, grasshoppers, moths, beetles that fly into the large web. Sometimes their strong webs manage to trap small birds or bats, and the spider will wrap them in silk and feed on them.
Breeding
yellow egg sac is near the web hidden in foliage, often in the tree used to support the web
Notes
Orb weavers are not aggressive.Symptoms of bite are usually minor with mild local pain, numbness and swelling.
Classification
| Class: | Arachnida | | Order: | Araneomorphae | | Family: | Tetragnathidae | | Genus: | Nephila | | Species: | edulis | | Common Name: | Golden Orb Weaver Spider |
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