Big Female Banana/Golden Silk Spider

tma

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Jul 1, 2004
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This is a female Nephila clavipes I have around my house.
She is surrounded by about 6-7 small males.
Right now she is at 5+ inches and will probably grow a bit more before the summers end.


thomas
 

WayneT

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May 28, 2004
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Awesome pic Thomas! Man I would love to have one of those! I'd like to see if they WOULD keep over the winter!
 

Tarangela

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THAT is a very pretty spidey! Cool how the males hang out at *her* place ;)
 

edesign

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i love those spiders too. I remember when i first moved to Louisiana i was driving down a residential road with spruce trees on either side. I saw something hanging in the air above the road and just as i passed under it i realized it was a spider! I had to back up and look at it again...it had a web spun across the road (no joke) and was just chillen in the middle. Never seen one as big as yours is, maybe up to 4" or so...beautiful spiders they are :)
 

Lycanthrope

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I believe those are seasonal, with even females dying out within the first year. I grew up in central Florida, and caught and attempted to keep many of those as a child. Their webs are amazingly strong, I've accidentally run into countless numbers of them in the woods, and they are tough to break. I also used to catch mid sized american toads and throw them in the webs for the spider to eat, and they usually stuck. The biggest problem I had was giving them enough space to make their web. None that I kept lived longer than 8 months to a year.
 

jsloan

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tma said:
This is a female Nephila clavipes I have around my house.
She is surrounded by about 6-7 small males.
Right now she is at 5+ inches and will probably grow a bit more before the summers end.
Nice picture, Thomas. We don't have any native spiders that size where I live, but I am raising several Nephila madagascariensis babies given to me by a local museum. So far the largest is only just over an inch leg span, and growing fast (it was only 1/4 inch when I got it in early June). I'll post pictures from time to time as they grow, and definitely when they reach maturity. Even small, they are beautiful spiders. I was told that their life span is about one year.
 

Lochala

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She's a sexy beast. No wonder all the dudes want to come to her place. ;P
 

tma

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Well I came home tonight and she now has 14 males surrounding her!
I was also able to catch one of the males (probably the smallest one) mating with her:


She also seems to have a perfect dotted 'M' under her abdomen.

thomas
 
Last edited:

Brian S

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May 29, 2004
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Thomas, Have you tried feeding it any crickets or grasshoppers?
 

OldHag

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Those are AWESOME pictures!!! Save the eggsack and there will be babies for EVERYONE!!! :D

Michelle
 
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