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68-766: The Pseudostigmatidae are a family of tropical damselflies , known as helicopter damselflies , giant damselflies , or forest giants . The family includes the largest of all damselfly species. They specialize in preying on web-building spiders , and breed in phytotelmata , the small bodies of water held by plants such as bromeliads . The species traditionally placed in Pseudostigmatidae are all Neotropical . Two range as far as northeastern Mexico: Mecistogaster ornata occurs in Tamaulipas and Pseudostigma aberrans in both Tamaulipas and Nuevo León . In 2006, molecular phylogenetic analysis confirmed that

136-536: A base for support strands due to their stability. Individuals are often found in urban and suburban environments due to the protection from predation and greater prey availability. As they weave their webs in bushes and near flowers, they might present a nuisance for gardeners or flower pickers. Some nests near fruits may repel or destroy known pests, such as Tephritid fruit flies , without the need to use insecticides . Spiders may bite humans if provoked but more often flee if confronted. There have been several efforts in

204-511: A break in rainfall during mid-season when the Intertropical Convergence Zone or monsoon trough moves poleward of their location during the middle of the warm season; Typical vegetation in these areas ranges from moist seasonal tropical forests to savannahs . When the wet season occurs during the warm season, or summer , precipitation falls mainly during the late afternoon and early evening hours. The wet season

272-407: A dual purpose: sunlit webs ensnare bees that are attracted to the bright yellow strands, whereas in shady spots, the yellow blends in with background foliage to act as a camouflage. The spider is able to adjust pigment intensity relative to background light levels and color; the range of spectral reflectance is specifically adapted to insect vision. The webs of most Nephila spiders are complex, with

340-411: A few dozen may infest a single Nephila web to feed from the host spider's captured prey. The frequent rebuilding or abandoning of webs by Nephila may be a tactic for controlling Argyrodes . Spiny orb-weaver spiders of the genus Gasteracantha also inhabit the webs of Nephila as kleptoparasites. Egg sacs generally remain free from both predation and parasitism, often due to the close proximity of

408-407: A few species can be found in fallen fruit husks, though these phytotelmata may dry out quickly or be overturned by animals. Fallen palm bracts provide an even more unstable habitat, and no pseudostigmatid naiads have ever been found in them. There remain six species known as adults whose larvae have not yet been identified. The naiads are top predators in their aquatic habitats, feeding on

476-433: A fine-meshed orb suspended in a maze of non-sticky barrier webs. As with many weavers of sticky spirals, the orb is renewed regularly if not daily, apparently because the stickiness of the orb declines with age. When weather is good (and no rain has damaged the orb web), subadults and adults often rebuild only a portion of the web. The spider removes and consumes the portion to be replaced, builds new radial elements, then spins

544-587: A form of heat control). The best distinction between Leucauge and Nephila juveniles is web structure: Leucauge species tend to build horizontal orbs that form a perfect circle, whereas Nephila species build vertical, elliptical orbs that are incomplete (missing the portion of the orb over the hub, the center where the spider sits). The latter seem to prefer more open habitat such as second-growth scrub or forest edges. Fences or building overhangs often do just as nicely. Once they are juvenile, Nephila spiders inhabit their individual webs, then begin their growth by

612-408: A higher predation risk. The golden silk orb-weaver is named for the yellow color of the spider silk used to construct these webs. Yellow threads of their web shine like gold in sunlight. Carotenoids are the main contributors to this yellow color, but xanthurenic acid , two quinones , and an unknown compound may also aid in the color. Experimental evidence suggests that the silk's color may serve

680-448: A kind of early-warning system for incoming prey or against spider-hunting predators, or as a shield against windblown leaves; it may also be remnants of the owner's previous web. At least one reference explains the suspended debris-chain as a cue for birds to avoid blundering into and destroying the web. The golden silk orb-weaver targets many different organisms as prey, ranging from small flies and beetles to larger cicadas and locusts. As

748-482: A mere gray haze. Adult lifespans as long as seven months have been recorded (in Megaloprepus ). As far as is known, all pseudostigmatids feed on web-building spiders, which they pluck out of their webs. The only recorded exception to this uniform diet is that they occasionally take wrapped prey from a web rather than the spider who wrapped it. Most Odonata are generalist predators; the Pseudostigmatidae may be

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816-413: A pseudostigma of several cells. In some species the pseudostigma is a large colored spot covering most of the tip of the wing. Mary and William Beebe described the appearance of Mecistogaster flying in the rainforest of Guyana : Spinning through the aisles made by the giant columns of tree-trunks, were curious translucent pin-wheels .... the wing spots revolved rapidly while the rest of the wings became

884-469: A result of their strong web structure, small birds and bats can also become trapped and fed upon. Whilst most of the captured prey is relatively small compared to Nephila , the majority of biomass consumed comes from larger, rarer prey. Prey larger than 66% of the captor's size accounts for just 16.5% of prey captured, but 85% of prey consumed, indicating the spider is selective in its feeding habits. Spiders are notified that potential prey has been caught in

952-644: A shawl that was exhibited at the American Museum of Natural History in 2009. By 2012 they managed to produce a second, bigger garment, a cape, that, together with the shawl, were exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Two shawls and a traditional Madagascan lamba made of this spider silk were included in an exhibition of curios from the natural world in 2021. Another possible use of Nephila silk lies in tissue engineering . A study from

1020-578: A small number of female golden orb web spiders are found in New Zealand (where they are not endemic) after having been blown across the Tasman Sea ; the spiders usually end up in the North Island . Whilst the geographic distribution of Nephila is large, many habitat similarities are seen between these locations. A warm and reasonably wet climate is generally preferred, as these are some of

1088-719: A tree and down the other side. When they locate one they hover in front of it. To catch a spider they first fly backward, then quickly fly forward to grab it in their forelegs. Then they back away again and perch to consume the spider, removing the legs before eating the body. Though this careful forward-and-back approach minimizes contact with the web, they often preen after eating to remove any strands that do adhere to them. Pseudostigmatids prey on spiders about 3 to 6 mm in body length, avoiding larger ones. They prefer soft-bodied spiders, which can be eaten more quickly. They have never been observed feeding on ground-dwelling spiders, though they do catch web-building spiders that drop to

1156-464: Is a genus of araneomorph spiders noted for the impressive webs they weave. Nephila consists of numerous species found in warmer regions around the world, although some species formerly included in the genus have been moved to Trichonephila . They are commonly called golden silk orb-weavers , golden orb-weavers , giant wood spiders , or banana spiders . The genus name Nephila is derived from Ancient Greek , meaning "fond of spinning", from

1224-500: Is a time when air quality improves, freshwater quality improves and vegetation grows significantly due to the wet season supplementing flora, leading to crop yields late in the season. Floods and rains cause rivers to overflow their banks, and some animals to retreat to higher ground. Soil nutrients are washed away and erosion increases. The incidence of malaria increases in areas where the rainy season coincides with high temperatures. Animals have adaptation and survival strategies for

1292-511: Is also associated with fecundity, as larger individuals can produce more eggs and therefore increase reproductive success. When males are fully mature, they leave their webs to search for a suitable female, often using web characteristics to identify potential mates. Often, multiple males attempt to court the same female, thus competition for territory on the web occurs, but is rarely physical, as smaller males surrender area to larger ones. When males approach females, they are often feeding, allowing

1360-405: Is readily available and more biomass is available for consumption than is required by the spider. The purpose of caches is to have a backup food source when prey is scarce and occasionally to provide bait to attract more prey to the web. Nephila species may also respond to food shortages by moving their webs, but this is a response to longer periods of prey scarcity than cache creation. Web moving

1428-446: Is seen as a result of environmental change, whereas caches occur from environmental fluctuation. Nephila spiders display large sexual dimorphism in size, with females being greatly larger than males. Debate exists as to whether this is a result of male dwarfism or female gigantism. Smaller males may be selected for due to the presence of competition for mating. Smaller males are quicker and more nimble, allowing them to be able to catch

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1496-585: Is that the tropics represent a ' Garden of Eden ', a heaven on Earth, a land of rich biodiversity or a tropical paradise. The alternative is that the tropics consist of wild, unconquerable nature. The latter view was often discussed in old Western literature more so than the first. Evidence suggests over time that the view of the tropics as such in popular literature has been supplanted by more well-rounded and sophisticated interpretations. Western scholars tried to theorise why tropical areas were relatively more inhospitable to human civilisations than colder regions of

1564-401: Is the case with many wandering spiders). Their contrast of dark brown/black and green/yellow allows warning and repelling of potential predators to which their venom might be of little danger. Golden orb-weavers reach sizes of 4.8–5.1 cm (1.9–2.0 in) in females, not including legspan, with males being usually two-thirds smaller (less than 2.5 cm, 1 in). In 2012, a large individual

1632-415: Is the most common mode of oviposition in damselflies. Yet one species, Mecistogaster martinezi , has been observed apparently "tossing" eggs from its abdomen onto the surface of the water while in flight. This behavior may allow the insect to avoid predators such as spiders from which it would otherwise be unable to escape in the small, confined space of a phytotelma. However, Ola Fincke has suggested that

1700-605: The Andes as far south as the northernmost parts of Chile and Perú . The climate is changing in the tropics, as it is in the rest of the world. The effects of steadily rising concentrations of greenhouse gases on the climate may be less obvious to tropical residents, however, because they are overlain by considerable natural variability. Much of this variability is driven by the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) . The Tropics has warmed by 0.7–0.8 °C over

1768-408: The M. martinezi female may simply have been using its long abdomen to test for water in the tree hole before alighting to lay eggs—a behavior observed in a related species—and that the eggs seen floating on the water afterward were laid by mosquitoes. The family contains the following species: Tropical Due to the overhead sun, the tropics receive the most solar energy over the course of

1836-568: The Medizinische Hochschule Hannover reports that processed Nephila silk is an excellent scaffold material thanks to its biocompatibility, mechanical strengths, and its property to promote cell adhesion and proliferation. In particular, the silk acts as a suitable guiding material for peripheral nerve regrowth. Fishermen on the coasts of the Indo-Pacific Ocean remove Nephila webs and form them into

1904-732: The Pantropic . The system of biogeographic realms differs somewhat; the Neotropical realm includes both the Neotropics and temperate South America, and the Paleotropics correspond to the Afrotropical , Indomalayan , Oceanian , and tropical Australasian realms . Flora are plants found in a specific region at a specific time. Some well-known plants that are exclusively found in, originate from, or are often associated with

1972-579: The Waterberg Biosphere of South Africa , and eastern Madagascar rainforests. Often the soils of tropical forests are low in nutrient content, making them quite vulnerable to slash-and-burn deforestation techniques, which are sometimes an element of shifting cultivation agricultural systems. In biogeography , the tropics are divided into Paleotropics (Africa, Asia and Australia) and Neotropics (Caribbean, Central America, and South America). Together, they are sometimes referred to as

2040-659: The World Spider Catalog does not accept all of these changes, listing the following species in the genus Nephila : Additional fossil species are known from the Cenozoic . In 2012 Geratonephila burmanica was described from the Cenomanian aged Burmese amber , Wunderlich 2015 synonymised Geratonephilia with Nephilia tenuis, a species from the Dominican Amber , as he considered it unlikely that

2108-719: The axial tilt of the Earth . The Tropic of Cancer is the Northernmost latitude from which the Sun can ever be seen directly overhead , and the Tropic of Capricorn is the Southernmost. This means that the tropical zone includes everywhere on Earth which is a subsolar point at least once during the solar year . Thus the maximum latitudes of the tropics have equal distances from the equator on either side. Likewise, they approximate

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2176-565: The African damselfly Coryphagrion grandis , previously often classified within Megapodagrionidae or in a monotypic family Coryphagrionidae, belonged within family Pseudostigmatidae, close to genus Mecistogaster , as was proposed already ten years before. This finding suggests that the family dates back to before the breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana . More recent studies, using a denser taxon sampling, have shown this family

2244-534: The Northern Hemisphere. A popular explanation focused on the differences in climate. Tropical jungles and rainforests have much more humid and hotter weather than colder and drier temperaments of the Northern Hemisphere, giving to a more diverse biosphere. This theme led some scholars to suggest that humid hot climates correlate to human populations lacking control over nature e.g. 'the wild Amazonian rainforests'. Nephila See text Nephila

2312-405: The abdomen shades the cephalothorax from the sun. Spiders may also hang from their hind legs as a result of the heat due to a loss of hydrostatic pressure. Conversely, as temperatures cool down, the spiders position themselves perpendicular to the sun to retain as much heat energy as possible. When ambient temperatures reach extreme highs (above 40 °C), they may leave their webs and seek shade in

2380-553: The amber was actually Burmese in origin. Though largely ambiguous, the origins of Nephila are undoubtedly Gondowanan . With the prime candidates being Africa , Indomalaya , and Australasia . Golden silk orb-weavers are widespread in warmer regions throughout the world, with species in Australia, Asia, Africa (including Madagascar ), and the Americas . Spiderlings can be carried by the wind over long distances, and each year,

2448-399: The angle of the Earth's axial tilt. This angle is not perfectly fixed, mainly due to the influence of the moon, but the limits of the tropics are a geographic convention, and their variance from the true latitudes is very small. Many tropical areas have both a dry and a wet season. The wet season , rainy season or green season is the time of year, ranging from one or more months when most of

2516-459: The average annual rainfall in a region falls. Areas with wet seasons are disseminated across portions of the tropics and subtropics , some even in temperate regions. Under the Köppen climate classification , for tropical climates , a wet-season month is defined as one or more months where average precipitation is 60 mm (2.4 in) or more. Some areas with pronounced rainy seasons see

2584-456: The coarse weaving, she returns and fills in the gaps. Whereas most orb-weaving spiders remove the nonsticky spiral when spinning the sticky spiral, Nephila spiders leave it. This produces a " manuscript paper " effect when the orb is seen in the sun: groups of sticky spirals reflecting light with "gaps" where the nonsticky spiral does not reflect the light. In relation to the ground, the webs of adults may be woven from eye-level upwards high into

2652-450: The environmental cues that induce spiderling hatching. Locally, spiders look for relatively dense vegetation where webs can be set up in areas that insects will regularly fly through. Urban environments are also attractive due to the large prey concentrations and lower levels of predation. Nephila spiders produce large asymmetric orb webs up to 1.5 m (5 ft) in diameter. Nephila species remain in their webs permanently, so have

2720-400: The females more easily, as well as to escape when threatened. Larger males may have to wait for the female to come close due to their slower speed. Larger females may have been selected for as a result of males using mating plugs upon copulation. Larger individuals reduce the success of these plugs, allowing for multiple mating and reducing the risk of genital mutilation. Gigantism in females

2788-432: The genus means that they possess relatively strong chelicerae , so any bite can cause some mechanical damage, but only of short-term localised effect for humans. However, further studies of the venom components are needed to better understand pathways associated with any toxicity. Nephila do not seem to form either beneficial or harmful relationships with humans. Females often construct their webs using human structures as

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2856-460: The geographic region; these usages ought not be confused. The Earth's axial tilt is currently around 23.4° , and therefore so are the latitudes of the tropical circles , marking the boundary of the tropics: specifically, ±23°26′09.8″ (or 23.43605°). The northern one is called the Tropic of Cancer , and the southern is the Tropic of Capricorn . As the Earth's axial tilt changes, so too do

2924-479: The ground or retreat to a rolled leaf in an attempt to escape. The complex barrier webs that most Nephila spiders build protect them from predation by pseudostigmatids. Some species mate opportunistically while foraging in light gaps. In others, males briefly hold mating territories in sunny gaps, or defend a large phytotelma and mate with females who lay eggs there. All pseudostigmatids have ovipositors capable of cutting into plant tissue to insert eggs, which

2992-400: The ground to avoid parasitism. These sacs can contain from 300 to 3000 eggs, depending on mating success and particular species. Once hatched, the spiderlings inhabit a communal web to begin their lives. Nephila spiders change their body positioning relative to the sun to maintain internal temperatures at an optimal level. As ambient temperatures increase, the spiders position themselves so

3060-459: The larvae of mosquitoes and other flies , tadpoles , and the naiads of their own and other odonate species. Adults are exceptionally large for damselflies, with wingspans as high as 19 cm (7.5 in.) reported for Megaloprepus and body length up to 13 cm (5.1 in.) for Pseudostigma aberrans . The pterostigma —a thickened, pigmented cell found on the leading edge of the wing in other odonates —is either missing or else modified into

3128-961: The last century—only slightly less than the global average—but a strong El Niño made 1998 the warmest year in most areas, with no significant warming since. Climate models predict a further 1–2 °C warming by 2050 and 1–4 °C by 2100. Tropical plants and animals are those species native to the tropics. Tropical ecosystems may consist of tropical rainforests , seasonal tropical forests , dry (often deciduous) forests , spiny forests, deserts , savannahs, grasslands and other habitat types. There are often wide areas of biodiversity , and species endemism present, particularly in rainforests and seasonal forests. Some examples of important biodiversity and high-endemism ecosystems are El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico , Costa Rican and Nicaraguan rainforests, Amazon Rainforest territories of several South American countries, Madagascar dry deciduous forests ,

3196-426: The males increase their chances of survival. Males also approach from the side of the web opposite the female, increasing the odds of a successful approach. Male Nephila pilipes is reported to have a mate binding behavior to avoid sexual cannibalism. Sexual cannibalism does still occur, but generally is more common with larger males, and from older females. Females produce an egg sac in the surrounding environs of

3264-402: The males to get closer without an aggressive response and also meaning the female is not moving. On approach, the male makes himself known by tapping on a web strand to ensure the female is amenable before proceeding to mate. When met with aggression, males stop approaching and remain in the same location until the female relaxes or they retreat. Females engage in multiple mating, but no benefit to

3332-567: The molting process. The time between molts is called an instar and seven to 12 of these can occur depending on food availability. Ecdysis , the shedding of the exoskeleton , occurs through the formation of a soft exoskeleton inside the current one. Once the old exoskeleton is shed, the new, larger one begins to harden. Ecdysis occurs when the spider's mass becomes too great for the current exoskeleton to support. Male spiders seek out females for copulation and live on their webs. When mating season arrives, both males and females stop molting and remain

3400-458: The most dependable and widespread habitats available to pseudostigmatid naiads, and a majority of species use tree holes. Tree hole species are rarely found in bromeliads and vice versa, probably because bromeliad phytotelmata have much higher oxygen content than those in tree holes. One species apparently specializes in bamboo stems that have filled with water after being breached by other insects. In areas where tree holes are uncommon, naiads of

3468-564: The mother and how well it is hidden. Nephila spiderlings leave the egg sac as a result of environmental cues, often warmer and wetter conditions in spring. They then live on a communal web, eating dead siblings and web debris for around a week before dispersing to make individual webs. Young spiders do not generally build yellow-colored silk, and the young themselves can be easily mistaken for young orchard spiders ( Leucauge ) in general color and shape (both genera sport silver stripes or patches on their abdomens, described in some references as

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3536-432: The new spirals. This partial orb renewal is distinct from other orb-weaving spiders that usually replace the entire orb web. The web of Nephila antipodiana contains ant-repellent chemicals to protect the web. Typically, the golden orb-weaver first weaves a nonsticky spiral with space for two to 20 more spirals in between (the density of sticky spiral strands decreases with increasing spider size). When she has completed

3604-538: The offspring occurs as a result of this; however, the energy cost of repelling a male is higher than that of allowing him to copulate. As a result of this, sperm competition occurs through males altering the duration and frequency of mating, with longer mating being proportional to a greater likelihood of success. Sexual cannibalism is uncommon in Nephila as a result of male mating behaviours. By copulating when females are immobile after molting or inactive due to feeding,

3672-459: The only true specialist predators in the order. Spiders provide a large amount of nutrition per unit of prey, and since empty webs are often taken over by other spiders, a pseudostigmatid that learns web locations may be able to take prey from them again and again. They forage in sun flecks and the gaps created by fallen trees, where there is enough light to see spider webs. Several species have been observed searching for webs by flying up one side of

3740-416: The past to produce garments from Nephila silk although none commercially viable. These include two bed hangings that were shown at the 1900 Paris Exhibition . In 2004 a textile designer, Simon Peers, and an entrepreneur, Nicholas Godley managed in three years' work and using 1.2 million Golden silk orb-weavers (collected in the wild and released some 30 minutes later after they produced the silk) to produce

3808-412: The same size for the remainder of their lives. The venom of the golden silk orb-weaver is effective in action on prey, but has not been reported to be of any notable consequence for humans if accidentally bitten. In the literature, Nephila is one of several genera where the venom "must be considered as more or less ineffectual in human beings". That said, the potentially large size of several members of

3876-402: The surrounding environment. Predation of Nephila species is relatively uncommon; when it does occur, the main group affected are the juvenile individuals. The major predators are birds, but wasps and damselflies also prey upon smaller juveniles. Nephila species are frequently parasitized by Argyrodes , a genus of very small black-and-silver spiders that are kleptoparasitic . As many as

3944-437: The tree canopy. The orb web is usually truncated by a top horizontal support strand, giving it an incomplete look. Adjacent to one face of the main orb, a rather extensive and haphazard-looking network of guard-strands may be suspended a few centimeters distant across a free space. This network is often decorated with a lumpy string or two of plant detritus and insect carcasses clumped with silk. This "barrier web" may function as

4012-516: The tropical and polar circles . The tropics constitute 39.8% of Earth's surface area and contain 36% of Earth's landmass . As of 2014 , the region was home also to 40% of the world's population , and this figure was then projected to reach 50% by 2050. Because of global warming , the weather conditions of the tropics are expanding with areas in the subtropics , having more extreme weather events such as heatwaves and more intense storms. These changes in weather conditions may make certain parts of

4080-469: The tropics include: Tropicality refers to the image of the tropics that people from outside the tropics have of the region, ranging from critical to verging on fetishism. Tropicality gained renewed interest in geographical discourse when French geographer Pierre Gourou published Les pays tropicaux ( The Tropical World in English), in the late 1940s. Tropicality encompassed two major images. One,

4148-568: The tropics uninhabitable. The word "tropic" comes via Latin from Ancient Greek τροπή ( tropē ), meaning "to turn" or "change direction". The tropics are defined as the region between the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at 23°26′09.8″ (or 23.43605°) N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at 23°26′09.8″ (or 23.43605°) S; these latitudes correspond to

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4216-403: The web through vibrations along strands, and these can be followed to the prey location on the web and be used to estimate prey size. Nephila species also create caches of food for storage, which can be found above the hub of the web and contain up to 15 prey items. These items are arranged in a line vertically and are wrapped in silk to reduce dehydration. Caches are created and grow when prey

4284-401: The web to protect their eggs. The eggs are deposited on a silk platform, then are covered in loose silk to form a sac, which is firmly attached to surrounding vegetation so that it is hidden from the view of predators. It is reported that egg sacs are mostly under leaves and other coverings. However, only Nephila pilipes is different than other Nephila species. They lay eggs in small pits on

4352-726: The wetter regime. The previous dry season leads to food shortages into the wet season, as the crops have yet to mature. However, regions within the tropics may well not have a tropical climate. Under the Köppen climate classification, much of the area within the geographical tropics is classed not as "tropical" but as "dry" ( arid or semi-arid ), including the Sahara Desert , the Atacama Desert and Australian Outback . Also, there are alpine tundra and snow-capped peaks, including Mauna Kea , Mount Kilimanjaro , Puncak Jaya and

4420-407: The words νεῖν ( nein ) = to spin (related to nema νήμα "thread") + φίλος ( philos ) = "love". Nephila spiders vary from reddish to greenish yellow in color with distinctive whiteness on the cephalothorax and the beginning of the abdomen. Like many species of the superfamily Araneoidea , most of them have striped legs specialized for weaving (where their tips point inward, rather than outward as

4488-638: The year, and consequently have the highest temperatures on the planet. Even when not directly overhead, the sun is still close to overhead throughout the year, therefore the tropics also have the lowest seasonal variation on the planet; "winter" and "summer" lose their contrast. Instead, seasons are more commonly divided by precipitation variations than by temperature variations. The tropics maintain wide diversity of local climates, such as rain forests , monsoons , savannahs , deserts , and high altitude snow-capped mountains . The word "tropical" can specifically refer to certain kinds of weather , rather than to

4556-436: Was paraphyletic, and that C. grandis and New World taxa have rather followed a fantastic ecomorphological convergent evolution . As with other damselflies, the young, known as naiads , have gills and live in fresh water . The tropical forests where pseudostigmatids live typically have few ponds and lakes, so the water that collects in or on plants is an important habitat. Water-filled tree holes and bromeliad tanks are

4624-900: Was photographed killing and consuming a 0.5-m-long brown tree snake in Freshwater, Queensland . Species from Taiwan have been known to reach over 130 mm (5.1 in), legspan included, in mountainous country. In 2014, a study discovered that golden orb-weavers living in urban areas, particularly areas of a high socioeconomic status, grew larger and carried more eggs than those in their native habitats. A number of possible explanations were suggested, such as increased food supplies due to artificial light or lack of predators and parasites . In 2018, twelve Nephila species were reclassified as Trichonephila , with another two ( N. kuhlii and N. robusta ) considered in 2020 to be junior synonyms of N. pilipes . Species whose placement has been changed by some sources include: As of April 2024 ,

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