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The spiny orb-weaving spiders in the genera Gasteracantha and Micrathena look like plant seeds or thorns hanging in their orb-webs. Some species of Gasteracantha have very long, horn-like spines protruding from their abdomens. One feature of the webs of some orb-weavers is the stabilimentum, a
The male's lateral eyes are closer together than their median eyes. [2] The distance between median and lateral eyes is rarely the same. Like the carapace, the legs are colored dark yellow or pale orange with a silver abdomen dorsally along the sides. The male's conductor has a thick rounded tip and a small point near the base of the structure.
Nephila spiders vary from reddish to greenish yellow in color with distinctive whiteness on the cephalothorax and the beginning of the abdomen. Like many species of the superfamily Araneoidea, most of them have striped legs specialized for weaving (where their tips point inward, rather than outward as is the case with many wandering spiders).
Trichonephila clavipes (formerly known as Nephila clavipes), commonly known as the golden silk orb-weaver, golden silk spider, golden orb weaver spider or colloquially banana spider (a name shared with several others), is an orb-weaving spider species which inhabits forests and wooded areas ranging from the southern US to Argentina. [3]
The orb web is built below and in front of an irregular web, where a retreat for the spider is created. [2] This retreat is a tangled, knotted web made with some debris and leaves woven into the silk, placed so as to make a small tent for the spider. [5] After attaining maturity, the male makes no orb web.
Darwin's bark spider (Caerostris darwini) is an orb-weaver spider that produces the largest known orb webs, ranging from 900 to 28,000 square centimetres (140 to 4,340 sq in), [2] [3] with bridge lines spanning up to 25 metres (82 ft).
Gasteracantha has a complex taxonomic history, and many questions of species limits and distribution and generic interrelationships remain unanswered. Furthermore, challenges include the variability within individual Gasteracantha species (e.g., color polymorphism and variable length and shape of spines), a lack of male specimens and descriptions for many species, missing or damaged type ...
The golden silk orb-weaver is named for the yellow color of the spider silk used to construct these webs. Yellow threads of their web shine like gold in sunlight. Carotenoids are the main contributors to this yellow color, but xanthurenic acid , two quinones , and an unknown compound may also aid in the color. [ 3 ]