- Nephila edulis
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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
Epeira edulis
Nephila imperatrix
Nephila eremiana
Side view of a Sydney female.
Back view of a Sydney female.
Front view of a Sydney female.
Back view, female, Western AustraliaNephila 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.[citation needed] 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
Name
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]
Further reading
- Uhl, G. & Vollrath, F (2000). Extreme body size variability in the golden silk spider (Nephila edulis) does not extend to genitalia. J. Zool. Lond. 251:7-14 PDF
- Vollrath, F., Madsen, B. & Shao, Z. (2001). The effect of spinning conditions on the mechanics of a spider's dragline silk. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 268:2339-2346 PDF doi:10.1098/rspb.2001.1590
References
- ^ Golden orb weavers Ed Nieuwenhuys, Ronald Loggen 1997, 2002, Jurgen Otto 2005. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
- ^ Meyer Rochow, V.B. (1973). Edible insects in three different ethnic groups of Papua and New Guinea. Am J. Clin. Nutr. 26:673-677.
- ^ Labillardière, J. 1799. Relation du voyage à la recherche de La Pérouse, fait par ordre de l'Assemblée constituante. Paris Vol. 2 pp. 240-241
- ^ Davies, Valerie Todd; et al. (30 Mar 2006). "Order Araneae: Spiders". Australian Faunal Directory. Government of Australia. http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/abrs/online-resources/fauna/afd/taxa/Araneae. Retrieved 2009-03-06.
External links
Data related to Nephila edulis at Wikispecies- Pictures and info
- The Food Insect Newsletter, July 1993
Categories:- Nephilidae
- Spiders of Australia
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