Nephila pilipes

Nephila pilipes
	dorsal side: female and male; Double Haven, Hong Kong
	Ventral side; Madhya Pradesh, India
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Nephilidae
Genus:	Nephila
Species:	N. pilipes
Binomial name
	Nephila pilipes; (Fabricius, 1793)
Synonyms
	List Aranea longipes Fabricius, 1781 (Preocc.) ; Aranea maculata Fabricius, 1793 (Preocc.) ; Aranea pilipes Fabricius, 1793 ; Aranea sebae Walckenaer, 1805 (nomen nudum) ; Epeira chrysogaster Walckenaer, 1805 ; Nephila maculata Leach, 1815 ; Nephila fuscipes C. L. Koch, 1839 ; Epeira doreyana Walckenaer, 1841 ; Epeira caliginosa Walckenaer, 1841 ; Nephila ornata Adams, 1847 ; Epeira penicillum Doleschall, 1857 ; Epeira walckenaeri Doleschall, 1857 ; Epeira harpyia Doleschall, 1859 ; Nephila pecuniosa L. Koch, 1872 ; Nephila aurosa L. Koch, 1872 ; Nephila procera L. Koch, 1872 ; Nephila sulphurosa L. Koch, 1872 ; Nephila tenuipes L. Koch, 1872 ; Nephila submaculata Strand, 1906 ; Nephila pictithorax Kulczyński, 1911 ; Nephila robusta Tikader, 1962;

Nephila pilipes (northern golden orb weaver or giant golden orb weaver) is a species of golden orb-web spider. It resides all over countries in East and Southeast Asia as well as Oceania. It is commonly found in primary and secondary forests and gardens. Adult females are very large, with a body length of 25 to 50 mm (1 to 2 inches). Males are dwarfs, measuring only 4 to 6 mm (about 0.2 inch). It is the second largest of the orb-weaving spiders apart from the recently discovered Nephila komaci. The first, second, and fourth pairs of legs of juvenile females have dense hairy brushes, but these brushes disappear as the spider matures.

The N. pilipes golden web is vertical with a fine irregular mesh. It is not symmetrical, with the hub usually nearer the top. Rather than egg sacs being hung in the web, a pit is dug which is then covered with plant debris or soil.