Nephila pilipes is a species of golden orb-web spider. It can be found in Japan, China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Singapore, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Philippines, Sri Lanka, India, Papua New Guinea, and Northern Australia. The bodies of the males are only 5-6mm long but the females are giants, with bodies up to 50mm long and leg-spans reaching 20cm or more.It is one of the biggest spiders in the world.
The females build large webs, in open areas often high in forests. The web is a vertical with a fine irregular mesh and not symmetrical, with the hub is usually nearer the top and oval made up of a golden spiral bridged by colourless radiating threads; the oval is suspended by colourless threads from the surrounding vegetation (or structures) which may be meters away.
These spiders eat flies, beetles, butterflies and other flying insects that become ensnared in their webs. Leftovers of meals, such as the exoskeletons (skins) of insects are left hanging in the web.
Rather than egg sacks being hung in the web, a pit is dug which is then covered with plant debris or soil.The female digs a pit in the ground into which she deposits the fluffy yellow egg sac and covers it with soil and leaves. After hatching, the spiderlings quickly make their way up trees and other structures.
The first, second and fourth pairs of legs of juvenile females have dense hairy brushes, but as the spider matures these brushes disappear.
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