Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

Registration is open for the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2023

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29


Previous events
TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Chelicerates (Chelicerata) » Arachnids (Arachnida) » Spiders (Araneae) » True Spiders (Araneomorphae) » Entelegynae » Orb Weavers (Araneidae) » Golden Orb-weavers (Trichonephila) » Golden Silk Orbweaver (Trichonephila clavipes)
Photo#1264757
Nephila clavipes - Trichonephila clavipes - male - female
Copyright © 2016 Jon Hart

Nephila clavipes - Trichonephila clavipes - Male Female
Montrose, Laurens County, Georgia, USA
October 4, 2014
Size: unrecorded
This photo was a particular pain to take as she was 10 feet over my head in a huge (even for this species) web. I ended up using a long tele lens so picture quality is less than stellar. She is a beauty though. Her presumed mate was a few feet above and to the frame right of the female. He seemed reluctant to come down to the female despite plucking at the web a number of times which I don't think is normal for these guys, is it? Of course, the female was about ten times as large as the male. I almost missed him because he was so small and hanging way off to one side of the web.

Images of this individual: tag all
Nephila clavipes - Trichonephila clavipes - male - female Full-Grown Nephila and Mate - Trichonephila clavipes - male - female
tag · login or register to post comments
Contributed by Jon Hart on 26 July, 2016 - 12:36pm
Last updated 25 August, 2016 - 12:32pm

Moved
Moved from Spiders.
… john and jane balaban, 25 August, 2016 - 12:32pm login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from ID Request.
… Robert Lord Zimlich, 11 August, 2016 - 5:12pm login or register to post comments

Yes, Nephila clavipes.
These do host small, silvery kleptoparasitic spiders on their webs, but the smaller spider in your photo does appear to be a male N. clavipes.
… Michael Hughes, 26 July, 2016 - 3:08pm login or register to post comments

 
Yeah, I have
seen the kleptoparasitics on Nephila webs closer to the ground. They are for the most part less than 3mm in size. The assumed male here was considerably larger though much smaller than the female. They also come in a brownish coloration which caused me to assume they were a different species. If a full-grown Nephila shows up again this year, I will actively seek these parasites out. Sometimes even the tertiary stuff can be important.
… Jon Hart, 29 July, 2016 - 10:01am login or register to post comments

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2024 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact