Nephila pilipes

Nephila pilipes
Dorsal side
Ventral side both Madhya Pradesh, India
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Nephilidae
Genus:	Nephila
Species:	N. pilipes
Binomial name
Nephila pilipes Fabricius, 1793[1]
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

Nephila pilipes (northern golden orb weaver or giant golden orb weaver^[2]) is a species of golden orb-web spider. It resides all over countries in East and Southeast Asia as well as Oceania. 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 the second largest of the orb-weaving spiders apart from the recently discovered Nephila komaci. The first, second, and fourth pairs of legs of juvenile females have dense hairy brushes, but these brushes disappear as the spider matures.

The N. pilipes golden web is vertical with a fine irregular mesh. It is not symmetrical, with the hub usually nearer the top.^[2] Rather than egg sacs being hung in the web, a pit is dug which is then covered with plant debris or soil.