Golden orb weaving spider

What is a golden orb weaving spider?

Golden orb weaving spiders are large  arachnids. They get their name from the golden silk they use to weave their large, orb shaped webs up to one metre in diameter. Orb means spherical.

They are the  Nephila  species.  Nephila plumipes  is the species common around Sydney.

Golden orb weaving spider

What do golden orb weaving spiders look like?

Male and female golden orb weaving spiders are very different in appearance. Female golden orb weaving spiders are large with a grey to brown coloured abdomen and long brown-black legs, often with yellow stripes. Their abdomens can grow up to 4 centimetres long.

Males are tiny, reddish-brown coloured spiders with an abdomen size of up to 6 millimetres long – 0.6 centimetre.

Two tiny male golden orb weaving spiders above the large female in her web

Female golden orb weaving spider

Where do golden orb weaving spiders live?

Golden orb weaving spiders are found all over Australia in open forests and shrubland. They can also be found in dense vegetation and near small waterways. Their webs are often found between tall bushes and trees in urban areas.

What do golden orb weaving spiders eat?

Flying insects form the main diet of golden orb weaving spiders. These include flies, beetles and moths. Whilst it is a rare occurrence, a golden orb's web can trap small flying vertebrates such as birds or microbats. There have been observations of the spider eating part of the trapped vertebrate.

Female golden orb weaving spider feeding on a lady beetle. This is the underside view of the spider. She has wrapped insects stored in the background.

What eats golden orb weaving spiders?

Birds and wasps are the main predators of golden orb weaving spiders. Wasps of the family  Sphecidae  have been known to land on the outside strand of the web and vibrate it, tricking the spider into thinking it is prey. When the spider investigates it is paralysed by the wasp. The wasp then takes the spider to feed its young.

What adaptations do golden orb weaving spiders have?

Golden orb weaving spiders are opportunistic feeders. This means they wait for their food to come to them. They weave a large web, up to one metre in diameter, using their extremely strong golden silk. They wait for their prey to be trapped by the web. When trapped the spider wraps its prey and injects it with venom.

When there is surplus food, the golden orb weaver constructs  a cache or 'pantry' of wrapped insects in 'strings' behind or above its web.

Golden orb weaving spiders also construct a network of silk threads on one or both sides of their web as a barrier to protect them from bird attacks.

They can also vibrate their webs to distract potential predators.

Female golden orb weaving spiders weave large circular webs to trap flying insects.

How do golden orb weaving spiders reproduce?

A number of tiny males may live at the edges of a female’s web, waiting for a mating opportunity. A male will move carefully towards the female on the web. If he isn't careful the female will think he is prey. If the female acts aggressively he will move away. If she doesn’t then mating will occur.

The female will wrap her egg sack in silk and then hide it on a tree away from the web, disguised amongst leaves or bunch of twigs. The egg sac is a yellow flattish oval shaped ball about the size of a 10 cent piece. It looks like a cocoon.

Tiny spiderlings hatch out of the eggs in the cocoon and live independently.

Female golden orb weaving spider on her golden egg sac.

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