Nephila edulis

Nephila edulis

''Nephila edulis'' is a species of large spider of the Nephilidae family. It is referred to the common name edible golden silk spider or golden silk orb-weaver. They are commonly found in Australia, where it is found in both tropical and temperate regions, and in parts of New Guinea and New Caledonia.

It has a large body size variability, females can reach a body length of up to 40 millimetres, males about 7 mm. The cephalothorax is black with a white pattern on the back, and a yellow underside; the abdomen is grey to brown.

The web is about 1 metre in diameter and protected on one or both sides by a strong "barrier" web. ''N. edulis'' breeds from February to May, and produces an average of 380 eggs.
Nephila edulis soldiering on The Australian Golden Orb Weaver; female, gravid...down to six legs but still soldiering on. 35 mm body length. NB image has been flipped, she was positioned on her web facing downward Araneae,Araneidae,Australia,Fall,Geotagged,Gravid female,Macro,Nephila edulis,Spider,arachnid,fauna,golden orb weaver,invertebrate,silk

Naming

The species name ''edulis'' means "edible" in Latin. While it is not entirely clear why this particular species is considered edible, it is known that several ''Nephila'' species are considered a delicacy in New Guinea, where they are plucked by the legs from their webs and lightly roasted over an open fire.

The species was first collected and named by Jacques Labillardiere, in Relation du Voyage à la Recherche de la Pérouse , becoming the second Australian spider to be described by a European naturalist.

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Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionArthropoda
ClassArachnida
OrderAraneae
FamilyNephilidae
GenusNephila
SpeciesN. edulis
Photographed in
Australia