Afrikaans: Goue Wawielwebspinnekop
There are three species in the genus Nephila:
- Nephila pilipes fenestrata (black-legged golden orb-web spider),
- Nephila senegalensis annulata (banded-legged golden orb-web spider) and
- Nephila inaurata madagascariensis (red-legged golden orb-web spider).
The genus name Nephila is derived from Greek, "nen" meaning "to spin" and "philos" meaning "love" meaning "fond of spinning".
There are only three species in South Africa that weaves this gold coloured web and only one species Nephila pilipes fenestrata, occurs in the Western Cape.
The Nephila is a diurnal spider which means that it is active during the day rather than at night, can live in semi-social populations and is not a threat to humans.
Both the spider and its web are fascinating to observe. The spider is almost entirely black and the first, second and fourth pairs of legs have a brush of hairs on the tibia. The third pair of legs is the shortest and has no hairs. The yellow abdomen is long and oval shaped. The hind part of body is black with magnificent yellow markings.
The females are larger and may measure up to 15-30 mm in length with leg spans up to 15 cm,. The males are about 5mm and weigh only about one thousandth of the female's weight. They can be distinguished by their swollen pedipalps - part of the spider's mouth, which is used for various functions including manipulating food.
Nephila fenestrata’‘s web is most fascinating. The web is suspended between large shrubs, plants or trees and can span very large spaces – hence the popular name “golden orb-web spider”. The gold coloured web can be between 1-1,5 metres wide. Its design consists of densely woven strands to form an almost impenetrable, virtually invisible curtain and strong trip lines around the web. The silk is golden and extremely strong. Often, as in the case of the spider in the photograph, prey remains are strung up to form a line in the centre of the web. The female spider hangs inverted in the centre of the web.
The web is a highly successful trap for large insects and even small birds. Web housekeeping is often done by tiny dewdrop spiders with silver triangular abdomens of the genus Argyrodes of the Theridiidae family. They clean the orb-webs of prey too small for the host spider.
Useful links:
http://www.arc.agric.za/vmuseum/vmuseumMain.aspx
http://arachnophiliac.info/burrow/nephila_of_southern_africa.htm