| Nephila edulis | |
|---|---|
| Female Nephila edulis, Perth, Western Australia.[1] | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Suborder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Nephilidae |
| Genus: | Nephila |
| Species: | N. edulis |
| Binomial name | |
| Nephila edulis (Labillardière, 1799) |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Aranea edulis |
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Nephila edulis is a species of large spider of the Nephilidae family. It is referred to the common name edible golden silk spider or golden silk orb-weaver. It occurs widely in Australia, where it is found in both tropical and temperate regions, and in parts of New Guinea and New Caledonia.
It has a large body size variability, females can reach a body length of about 23 millimetres, males about 6 mm. The cephalothorax is black with a white pattern on the back, and a yellow underside; the abdomen is grey to brown.
The web is about 1 metre in diameter and protected on one or both sides by a strong "barrier" web. N. edulis breeds from February to May, and produces an average of 380 eggs.
Contents |
The species name edulis means "edible" in Latin. While it is not entirely clear why this particular species is considered edible, it is known that several Nephila species are considered a delicacy in New Guinea, where they are plucked by the legs from their webs and lightly roasted over an open fire.[2]
The species was first collected and named by Jacques Labillardiere, in Relation du Voyage à la Recherche de la Pérouse (1799),[3] becoming the second Australian spider to be described by a European naturalist.[4]