Golden+Orb+Weaver


 * Phylum: Arthropoda **

**Common Name:**Golden Orb Weaver

**Scientific Name:** Ne phila clavipes

**Class:** Arachnida

**Location:** The golden orb weaver can be found in lowland forests from the southern regions of Florida and Texas down through Panama. In Costa Rica it surviv es on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

**Size:** female 20-40mm, male 6mm

**Habitat:** Builds large yellow web strung between tree branches or onto electricity poles; the males tend to occupy the edge of the female's web

**Living Requirements:** areas in moderate or even sparse forest

**Life Cycle:** Eggs are laid in masses in fall on the side of a structure or tree close to where the female has her web. Usually at least two large eggsacs 25 to 30mm in diameter, containing several hundred eggs.

**Male and Female differences:** The female Golden Orb Weaver is a large spider with grey body and black and yellow banded legs. The male is much smaller and brown or reddish-brown in color.


 * Interesting Facts: **
 * A unique cloth woven from golden silk of over 1 million golden orb female spiders is on exhibit in the American Museum of Natural History
 * The silk created from the Golden Orb Weaver is almost as strong as Kevlar
 * They get their name from the golden silk used in their webs

**Human Impact:** There is no human impact on the Golden Orb Weaver



Zookeeper Hannah Jones

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