Golden Orb Weaver Spider

Facts about Golden Orb Weaver Spider, "Scientific name Golden Orb Weaver Spider is Nephila edulis". The Golden Orb Weaver Spider, is genus of the Araneomoprh spiders, which are widely known for the magnificent webs they weave. Genus Nephilia are also known as: the golden silk orb weavers spiders, the giant wood spiders, banana spiders, and in North America they are referred to as the writing spiders, because of the zig-zag pattern engrained into the webs they weave. Description-The Golden Orb spiders vary in the way they look. They differ from a greenish-yellow to a reddish color with a distinct whiteness at the beginning of their abdomen. The female Golden Orb Weaver Spiders can grow up to two inches in size (5 c.m), and the males normally tend to max at one inch, or about 2/3's the size of their female counterpart. Their strong contrasting colors help protect the Golden Orb Weaver Spider from potential predators that they possibly can't harm with their venom. Distribution-The Golden Orb spiders are typical know to spread in warmer climates. They are located in the Americas, Asia, Australia, and Africa (including Madagascar). Human Interaction-The Golden Orb Weaver Spiders aren't either necessarily beneficial or dangerous to humans. They normally weave in flowers and near bushes; they are helpful in the garden for killing fruit flies.

Golden Orb Weaver Spiders have oversize brains.
In the Golden Orb Weaver Spider the oxygen is bound to "hemocyanin" a copper-based protein that turns their blood blue, a molecule that contains copper rather than iron. Iron-based hemoglobin in red blood cells turns the blood red

Golden Orb Weaver Spiders have two body parts, the front part of the body is called the Cephalothorax-(the thorax and fused head of spiders). Also on this part of the body is the spider’s gland that makes the poison and the stomach, fangs, mouth, legs, eyes and brain. Golden Orb Weaver Spiders also have these tiny little leg-type things called (pedipalps) that are next to the fangs. They are used to hold food while the spider bites it. The next part of the Golden Orb Weaver Spiders body is the abdomen and the abdomens back end is where there is the spinnerets and where the silk producing glands are located.

The venom the Golden Orb Weaver Spider is indeed potent, but nonetheless, not-lethal to humans. Its venom share similar neurotoxic traits of that of a Black Widow, just without the potency. Webs-The Genus Nephilia gets its nickname, the Golden Orb Weaver Spider not because of its physical appearance, instead because of the color of the spiders silk. The yellow threads built in their web reflect like gold off the sunlight. They weave elaborate complex webs to aid them in their protection and also in hunting for food. Evidence suggest that the web serves a dual purpose: 1.the sunlight helps trap bees that are attracted to the bright yellow threads;2. in shady spots, the yellow can blend into the background and help camouflage the spider and aid in protection.

The muscles in a Golden Orb Weaver Spiders legs pull them inward, but the spider can't extend its legs outward. It will pump a watery liquid into its legs that pushes them out. A Golden Orb Weaver Spider’s legs and body are covered with lots of hair and these hairs are water-repellent, which trap a thin layer of air around the body so the Golden Orb Weaver Spiders body doesn't get wet. It allows them to float, this is how some spiders can survive under water for hours. A Golden Orb Weaver Spider feels its prey with chemo sensitive hairs on its legs and than feels if the prey is edible. The leg hair picks up smells and vibrations from the air. There are at minimum, two small claws that are at the end of the legs. Each Golden Orb Weaver Spiders leg has six joints, giving the Golden Orb Weaver Spider 48 leg joints. The Golden Orb Weaver Spider’s body has oil on it, so the spider doesn't stick to it’s own web.

Spiders belong to a group of animals called "arachnids", mites and Scorpions and a tick is also in the arachnid family. An Arachnids is a creature with eight legs, two body parts, no antennae or wings and are not able to chew on food. Spiders are not insects because insects have three main body parts and six legs and most insects have wings.

The Arachnids are even in a larger group of animals called "arthropods" an invertebrate animal of the large phylum Arthropoda, which also include spiders, crustaceans and insects. They are the largest group in the animal world, about 80% of all animals come from this group. There are over a million different species. There are more than 40,000 different types of spiders in the world.

A Golden Orb Weaver Spiders stomach can only take liquids, so a spider needs to liquefy their food before they eat. They bite on their prey and empty its stomach liquids into the pray which turns it into a soup for them to drink.

A male Golden Orb Weaver Spider has two appendages called "pedipalps" a sensory organ, instead of a penis, which is filled with sperm and insert by the male into the female Golden Orb Weaver Spider’s reproductive opening.

Golden Orb Weaver Spiders do not have a skeletons. They have a hard outer shell called an exoskeleton-(a rigid external covering for the body in some invertebrate animals). The exoskeleton is hard, so it can’t grow with the spider. The young Golden Orb Weaver Spiders need to shed their exoskeleton. The Golden Orb Weaver Spider has to climb out of the old shell through the cephalothorax. Once out, they must spread themselves out before the new exoskeleton will harden. Now they have some room to grow. They stop growing once they fill this shell. Female Golden Orb Weaver Spiders are usually bigger than males.
Female Golden Orb Weaver Spiders lay eggs on a bed of silk, which she creates right after mating. Once the female Golden Orb Weaver Spider lays her eggs, she will than cover them with more silk.