Golden Silk Orb-weaver
The golden silk orb-weaver (Trichonephila clavipes) is a large spider of the warm Americas that spins an enormous web of golden-colored silk. The female is much larger than the male.
The golden silk orb-weaver (Trichonephila clavipes) is a large spider of the warm Americas that spins an enormous web of golden-colored silk. The female is much larger than the male.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Golden Silk Orb-weaver in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Ecdysozoa lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
Gold Silk
The thread is yellow and strong, and the webs may be more than a meter across, spanning forest trails. The silk is tough and elastic, and has been studied for use in materials and medicine.
Giant Females, Tiny Males
Females may be up to ten times heavier than males, which live on the edge of the female's web. Extreme size difference between the sexes is common among orb-weaving spiders.
Silk Cloth
A related species in Madagascar was used to make a famous golden spider silk cloth in 2009. See European Garden Spider.
Golden Silk Orb-weaver at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Trichonephila clavipes |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum | Chelicerata |
| Class | Arachnida |
| Order | Araneae |
| Family | Nephilidae |
| Field Guide group | Ecdysozoa: Arachnida (Spiders, Scorpions & Allies) |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Large neotropical web-spinner with a silvery-orange cylindrical abdomen, conspicuous feathery black hair tufts ('leg warmers') on its long legs, and meter-wide wheel webs spun from golden-yellow silk. |
| IUCN Red List status | Least Concern (LC), assessed 2017 |
| Family | Nephilidae |
| Silk color | Golden |
See Also
- European Garden Spider — a temperate orb weaver
- Black Widow Spider — a cobweb spider