Trichonephila edulis

1 Golden orb weaver at North Tura

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Identification history

Nephila plumipes

10 May 2018

RossMannell

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User's notes

Added another photo of it I hadn't posted. Enhanced the image to show better details.

8 comments

JackieMiles wrote:

10 May 2018

A bit closer shot would have been handy Ross, but I think the thin upper leg segments make it plumipes not edulis, just by comparing it with our shots of both (plus the very coastal location).

KerriLee wrote:

10 May 2018

Hi Ross, Jackie ... Paul and I have mulling this one over this morning, and we're thinking this could well be P.edulis. The overall greyish colour and silvery cephalothorax, with obvious black leg brushes, and no yellow on the legs, point to P.edulis, rather than P.plumipes. Ross, did you happen to get any other shots? Perhaps one of the other side? P.plumipes has a distinctive yellow bump at the point of leg attachment. If this is indeed P.edulis, there will be no such yellow bump.

JackieMiles wrote:

10 May 2018

Hi K and P, On our photos all the N. edulis have short white hairs on the proximal segment of the 4th leg, which make the legs look relatively sturdy, compared with quite a slender and yellowish looking upper leg in plumipes (I think Ross's spider has a hint of yellowness there, just not well lit). Both have leg brushes, though they are more obvious on edulis.

MaxCampbell wrote:

10 May 2018

Hi all - I've saved the photo into my editor and pushed the lighting. We've also looked at more images on line and Jackie now agrees that it is N.edulis. (Though very coastal records are usually plumipes.)

PaulWhitington wrote:

10 May 2018

Ross, it would be great if you could get a photo of the sternum (underside of cephalothorax) of this or another individual. This way we could determine the ID unambiguously. If it is definitely Nephila edulis - as we suspect - it would be a significant sighting as while there are many records on ALA of it on the coast north of Jervis Bay, there are none on the coast between there and Melbourne.

RossMannell wrote:

10 May 2018

I have another sighting of an orb today on the track leading north from Turingal Head, Bournda NP. Today's sighting I have tried to capture from different angles and will check them as soon as possible but I am catching up with a few other days of hiking/photos.

Harrisi wrote:

11 May 2018

100% Nephila edulis is my two bobs worth. When you consider how common this species is just a tad inland from you, all the way down the east coast and then add the fact that they distribute via ballooning (some travelling 10s or 100s or even 1000s of kms) then it is not surprising at all that you found it in this location. For the (annual) record, N. edulis have been in very low numbers in the Canberra area this year. A dry summer may have something to do with it?

PaulWhitington wrote:

11 May 2018

Yes, that second image nails it Ross - no yellow sternum. Thanks for your ID Stuart and the background info on Nephila edulis distribution and dispersal. We’ve not seen it in Wonboyn in the 7 years we’ve lived there, whereas we usually see a couple of Nephila plumipes. Interestingly we didn’t see any sign of them either this Summer/Autumn and it was a very dry late Summer/Autumn.

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Location information

Sighting information

1 - 3 Abundance
3 May 2018 09:54 AM Recorded on
RossMannell Recorded by

Species information

Trichonephila edulis Scientific name
Golden orb weaver Common name
Not Sensitive
Local native
Non-Invasive
Up to 814.88m Recorded at altitude
Machine learning
External link More information
Synonyms
Nephila edulis