Monday, September 03, 2012

Golden silk Orb-weavers

I was going back through the photos from Central Winds Park and forgot to add a couple shots in yesterday's post. Forgot my spiders!

I am starting to find some nice specimens of Golden silk Orb-weavers (Nephila clavipes) in different places. I can't recall seeing too many last year. They kinda just took a break or something. I think I am happy to start seeing them again, scary looks and all.

Found this pair along the path as I headed back to the van. Yes, I said 'pair'. If you look closely you can see both the male and female on the web. The male is only a third the size of the female. He is in the top portion of this photo.

Golden-silk Spider

Also in the photo is the reason for their name. They weave portions of their webs in a golden hue. The photo below shows a close-up of the web to highlight the golden strands.

Golden-silk Spider

These spiders just hang there and being so large they are usually easy to see and avoid. If they do get on you at least they move so slowly that they can be brushed off effortlessly. Once you stop freaking out!

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