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Nephila pilipes (Giant wood spider)
Venue: Sirwani, Singtam, South Sikkim
Date: November 29, 2014
Pic: Shital Pradhan
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Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class:
Arachnida
Order:
Araneae
Suborder: Araneomorphae
Family: Nephilidae
Genus: Nephila
Species: N. pilipes
Binomial
name: Nephila
pilipes (Fabricius, 1793)
Other Names: Giant Wood Spider, golden orb-weavers or banana spiders.
Special feature: Females
are large and grow to a body size of 30–50 mm (overall size up to 20 cm), with
males growing to 5–6 mm. It is one of the biggest spiders in the world.
The
Nephila pilipes' web is vertical with a fine irregular mesh and not
symmetrical, with the hub is usually nearer the top. Rather than egg sacks
being hung in the web, a pit is dug which is then covered with plant debris or
soil.
The
first, second and fourth pairs of legs of juvenile females have dense hairy
brushes, but as the spider matures these brushes disappear. (Source:
Wikipedia)