Juvenile Nephila inaurata madagascariensis - underside, Palmarium, Madagascar

The red-legged golden orb-web spider (Nephila inaurata) is a species of golden orb-web spider. It lives in Southern Africa and several islands in the Indian Ocean (Madagascar, the Seychelles, Réunion, Mauritius, Rodrigues). Like other spiders in the family Nephilidae it can weave webs so strong that sometimes even birds and bats get caught. Its webs can be found in damp places such as large trees and unpolluted areas to which no cars have access; normally several are strung together to form enormous.. more