Trichonephila plumipes

Appearance

''T. plumipes'' resembles most of the other members of this genus in the general body form. Females of the ''T. plumipes'' species resemble those of ''T. clavipes'' in that they possess a collection of stiff hair on their legs. However, the hairs of ''T. plumipes'' are more closely set together than those of ''T. clavipes''. In a ''T. plumipes'' female, the cephalothorax is black, covered with silver-colored hairs. The abdomen is olive-brown with yellow and white spots and stripes. On several pairs of its legs, there are brushes of stiff black hairs. The body of the males are dark brown. The legs are dark brown as well, with a few scattering black hairs, without the brushes that are present in the female.

Distribution

Twelve ''Trichonephila'' species have had taxonomic changes. These twelve ''Trichonephila'' species were all formerly in classical ''Nephila'', but phylogenetic results have established the classical ''Nephila'' as diphyletic. Because classical ''Nephila'' is diphyletic, the new ''Nephila'' genus now only includes the Australasian ''N. pilipes'' and the African ''N. constricta''. The remaining twelve species, including ''T. plumipes,'' were assigned to the circumtropical ''Trichonephila''. Thus, ''Nephila plumipes'' is the synonym of ''Trichonephila plumipes''. The divergence between ''N. pilipes, the'' ''N. constricta'' clade, and the other new ''Trichonephila'' species is dated 11.9 Mya. The subsequent diversification for the separation of ''T. plumipes'' and other Asian/Australian ''Trichonephila'' species was dated 10.9 million years ago.

Behavior

Upon maturity,'' T. plumipes'' males leave their natal webs to search for females' webs. Females' webs are used for mate attraction and are also used as the mating arena. Females produce web-based, long-distance cuticular pheromones for males to locate them. Multiple males can settle on a single female's web and wait for an opportunity to mate. In ''T. plumipes'', females are polygynous, while males are monogynous due to a high chance of injury and sexual cannibalism by their first mate. Male survival during mate searching is extremely low at 36%. The high mortality rate is due to males' increased search time. Factors such as encountering predators and depleting energy reserves decrease male survival during mate searching. ''T. plumipes'' males have a long mate search time. Since they have only one single opportunity to mate, they are choosy. A male's mate choice is based on their own condition and weight. Males that choose virgin females are heavier than those that choose mated females. Thus, males are choosy about female phenotype or mating status, taking their own factors into consideration. As a result, males travel further than necessary, roughly eight meters, to find preferred mates.

Food

''T. plumipes'' incorporate prey they previously captured into their webs. They apply a long-term storage mechanism. They incorporate a densely packed storage band of previously captured uneaten prey into their web that is attached to the barrier web near the hub. They can maintain their body mass when there is low level of prey capture by eating the stored items. ''T. plumipes'' incorporate only animal material in their storage, but some other species in the ''Trichonephila'' genus utilize plant material in the storage serving some unidentified non-food-storing functions. A disadvantage of hoarding behavior is that the prey items stored may be lost to kleptoparasites or through web damage. Spiders in the genus ''Trichonephila'' are often host to kleptoparasitic spiders. Food storage in the web can attract more kleptoparasites. However, a study showed that the abundance of kleptoparasites does not affect ''T. plumipes'' weight gain. Kleptoparasites feed on prey items ignored by the host spider, which does not affect the nutrients intake of the host spider.