Nephila pilipes

Nephila pilipes

Taken near Chitwan, Nepal

Ventral side of same specimen
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Suborder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Nephilidae
Genus:	Nephila
Species:	N. pilipes
Binomial name
*Nephila pilipes* (Fabricius, 1793)
Synonyms
Aranea longipes Aranea maculata Aranea pilipes Aranea sebae Epeira chrysogaster Nephila maculata Nephila fuscipes Epeira fuscipes Epeira doreyana Epeira caliginosa Nephila ornata Epeira penicillum Epeira harpyia Nephila chrysogaster Meta ornata Nephila pecuniosa Nephila aurosa Nephila procera Nephila sulphurosa Nephila tenuipes Nephila submaculata

The Northern Golden Orb Weaver or Giant Golden Orb Weaver^[1] (Nephila pilipes) is a species of golden orb-web spider. It can be found in Japan, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Philippines, Sri Lanka, India, and Papua New Guinea. It is commonly found in primary and secondary forests and gardens. Females are large and grow to a body size of 30–50 mm (overall size up to 20 cm), with males growing to 5–6 mm. It is one of the biggest spiders in the world.

The Nephila pilipes' golden web is vertical with a fine irregular mesh and not symmetrical, with the hub usually nearer the top.^[1] Rather than egg sacks being hung in the web, a pit is dug which is then covered with plant debris or soil.

The first, second and fourth pairs of legs of juvenile females have dense hairy brushes, but as the spider matures these brushes disappear.