Female Golden-silk Spider – Nikon D200, handheld, f5.6, 1/1000, ISO 200, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 300mm, natural light
Last week was crazy. A lot of things came up that bugged me and I’m hoping that this week goes more smoothly and with fewer distractions so I can get caught up on responding to the comments you all have left here, have time to reply to emails sent to me and to find time to brush the cobwebs from my brain.
This is a female Golden-silk Spider (Nephila clavipes) I photographed way back in September of 2007 while wandering Arrow Head Trail at Fort De Soto County Park.
You can’t see it in this image but they do produce golden colored silk rather than the silvery white silk we are used to seeing from other spiders.
The females, as shown here are rather large at nearly two inches per bugguide.net but I know they seemed larger than that to me, I think If I held one in my hand it would have taken up the space of my palm, not that I would have. I think the two inches is just the length of her body not including the legs!
Anyway, here’s hoping for a week with a few less bugs in it.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my insect and spider photos.
Reminds me of this article on NPR: Spider Wranglers Weave one-of-a-kind tapestry (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113223398) YOWZERS!!!!!
Cool picture
The Golden Orb spider, the Golden Silk spider (also the Banana spider) are one and the same. The male is about 1/10th the size of the female. After mating, the male is a nice snack for the female. Yuck!
I do hope that you get your bug-free week. And love the spider – thank you.
It is a handsome spider, and I’d like to see the golden silk.
I’m with you on that one, Mia… BUGLESS DAYS from now on. The last two years have been full of bugs for me and by this time I’m beginning to see that all these bugs were slowly moving me in other directions…. So keep a good thought in your mind and look for opportunities, curiosities, new perspectives that come along with the bugs. The least they do is teach us new ways of doing things (although I often think the old ways would have been just fine with me.) I’d still rather use a pencil to draw something than a computer!
it s a beautifull spider, and big enougth, me too, i m not happy to get it in my hand lol but i like to watch and take photo about them
good week, more quite for you i hope
eric
great photo and information Mia! Hope your week is bug free, if thats not a contradiction 😉
….stop walking through their webs, that is!
It takes a buggy week once in awhile to help remind us how sweet the “bug-free” weeks can be!
Love these beautiful spiders. Now, if I could just learn to stop walking through them!
What a cool photo, Mia. I remember being on Antelope Island in late summer, and experiencing loads of large spiders. Makes your skin crawl, but they were beautiful animals anyway.
What a beautiful spider! Those funny little legs in the middle, so different than the others, must have a specialized function. Would love to see the web…color and shape. So glad you were “bugged”, by this lady, anyway…hope next week and those following are better.
She reminds me of the Golden Orb Weaving spiders on Lord Howe Island. Those fuzzy bits on her legs look amazing. Wishing you a bug free week …
That’s a really nice close-up shot of her. You can bet that “I” wouldn’t be holding one in my hand either!