Spiders
Orb-weaving spiders (several families)
Sighting 3397713

Trichonephila edulis

1 Golden orb weaver at North Tura

Trichonephila edulis at North Tura - 3 May 2018
Trichonephila edulis at North Tura - 3 May 2018
Trichonephila edulis at North Tura - 3 May 2018
Trichonephila edulis at North Tura - 3 May 2018
Request use of media

Identification history

Nephila plumipes 10 May 2018 RossMannell

Identify this sighting

Please Login or Register to identify this sighting.

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.

Please Login or Register to comment.

Location information

Sighting information

Species information

1,898,437 sightings of 21,107 species in 9,314 locations from 12,954 contributors
CCA 3.0 | privacy
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of this land and acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present.