Silk Spider

silk spider, (genus Nephila), also called golden silk spider, any of a genus of the class Arachnida (phylum Arthropoda), so named because of the great strength of their silk and the golden colour of their huge orb webs. These webs often measure 1 metre (about 3.3 feet) or more in diameter and are suspended between trees by guy lines. About 60 species are known to live in the warmer regions of the world.

Study the complex structures of webs created by a Nephila senegalensis and garden spiderSee all videos for this article

silk spider

Adult females are very large, with a body length of 25 to 50 mm (1 to 2 inches). Males are dwarfs, measuring only 4 to 6 mm (about 0.2 inch). As adults, they build no webs but rather live in the web of the female, where they are sometimes captured and eaten while attempting to mate. Juvenile silk spiders build complete orbs, whereas the older ones construct only the bottom portion, which is frequently repaired but not rebuilt every day, as in the case of most other orb weaver spiders.

Among the largest known silk spiders are females of Nephila komaci, a species reported in 2009 from specimens found in Africa and Madagascar that has a leg span measuring some 120 mm (4.7 inches). Another giant silk spider is N. clavipes, a species found in the southeastern United States and in regions of Central and South America. Females of N. clavipes can have a body length of more than 40 mm (1.6 inches) and a leg span of more than 125 mm (4.9 inches).