Sitting in my garden on the swing chair one summer, I happened to notice a beautiful golden colour coming from the flowers under the kitchen window. On further investigation, there was this huge spider spinning its web. It was one of the biggest I have ever seen, besides the tarantula, and it had the most beautiful colours.
Sitting on the side was this little spider, which after some investigation, I discovered was the male. I had a Golden Orb Web spider in my garden. Oh wow, I was so excited. I sent a photo of it to my brother who informed me that it was once thought that they had become extinct and do I not want to catch it and send it down to him - he would love to have it in his garden. Naturally, the answer to that was, No!
I informed the garden service that they were not to disturb my spider and took great pleasure in watching the web turn golden when the afternoon sun hit it. A couple of weeks later, the spider and the web were gone and the last people to see it were the garden service. He had brought in some new hires and they were not told to leave it alone and so destroyed my web and spider.
Golden Orb Web Spider
The banded legged nephilia, commonly known as the golden orb spider, is a member of the nephila genus of arachnids. There are many species of nephila around the world, often referred to as golden orb-weavers, giant wood spiders or banana spiders.
The genus name roughly translated from Ancient Greek, means “fond of spinning”, a testament to the enormous webs the golden orbs weave. The golden orb’s web has been seen to start at the top of a 6 metre tree and stretch as much as 2 metres across. Whereas most other spider webs are short-lived, these impressive structures can last for years.
Although it is frightening to look at, this spider is non-aggressive and relatively harmless. It can deliver a painful bite if severely provoked, but the venom is not lethal, generally only causing redness and blistering.
"Danger to humans and first aid
Orb weavers are reluctant to bite. Symptoms are usually negligible or mild local pain, numbness and swelling. Occasionally nausea and dizziness can occur after a bite. Seek medical attention if symptoms persist.
Credits: http://www.sabisabi.com/wildfacts/golden-orb-web-spider/
