Kingdom Animalia Order Araneae Family Nephilidae Scientific name Nephila edulis Rank Species | Phylum Arthropoda Suborder Araneomorphae Genus Nephila Higher classification Golden silk orb-weaver | |
 | ||
Similar Golden silk orb‑weaver, Nephila plumipes, Nephilidae, Arachnid, Nephila clavipes | ||
Golden orb weaving spider nephila edulis
Nephila edulis is a species of large spider of the Nephilidae family. It is referred to the common name Australian Golden Orb Weaver. It is found in Australia, in both tropical and temperate regions, and in parts of New Guinea and New Caledonia.
Contents
- Golden orb weaving spider nephila edulis
- Holding my new golden orb spider nephila edulis
- Name
- References
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.
Holding my new golden orb spider nephila edulis
Name
The species was first collected and named by Jacques Labillardiere, in Relation du Voyage à la Recherche de la Pérouse (1799), becoming the second Australian spider to be described by a European naturalist. The first was Gasteracantha fornicata.
The species name edulis means "edible" in Latin. Labillardiere wrote: "Les habitans de la Nouvelle-Calédonie appellent nougui cette espèce d'araignée, que je désigne sous le nom d' aranea edulis (araignée que les Calédoniens mangent)." (The inhabitants of New Caledonia call this spider "nougui". I have described it under the name Aranea edulis, meaning spiders that the New Caledonians eat.)
Several Nephila species are considered a delicacy in New Guinea, "plucked by the legs from their webs and lightly roasted over an open fire".