tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6604178870636686801.post8045886047674913185..comments2024-03-28T19:20:34.862+10:00Comments on BunyipCo: The golden orb Weaver; Nephila pilipesMr. Smileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01081316465993172523noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6604178870636686801.post-77316390625376372262010-05-23T23:50:48.897+10:002010-05-23T23:50:48.897+10:00I've read that that yellow Nephila silk is the...I've read that that yellow Nephila silk is the strongest known, and having run into a few webs, I can believe it.<br /><br />Sorry to hear about your butcher bird, but interesting that they pluck the spiders out of the web. I've always wondered what with the bold, constrasting patterns and the spider sitting so obviously in the web night and day, if the colouring wasn't aposematic and their taste horrible.<br /><br />But then there is Nephila edulis - which implies someone thought at least this species edible.HomeBugGardenerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11845748276844681280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6604178870636686801.post-43342482677811704502010-05-15T00:17:15.057+10:002010-05-15T00:17:15.057+10:00Amazing shots Dave. I saw them in the Daintree, bu...Amazing shots Dave. I saw them in the Daintree, but didn't have the chutzpah to get close for macros. <br /><br />I find it entertaining that their scientific name is just 2 letters off from a lovely endemic California wildflower - Nemophila maculata. No relation right? :)randomtruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01941027847362672057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6604178870636686801.post-60004003448936363632010-05-13T02:33:47.576+10:002010-05-13T02:33:47.576+10:00The late arachno-ethologist Mike Robinson took gre...The late arachno-ethologist Mike Robinson took great pleasure in captivating his audiences with eloquent stories of "spider love" -- complete with mime -- and they culminated of course with the the female's morbid trick. <br /><br />He was a great fan of Nephila of all stripes, and asked me for specimens of maculata from Burma. I packaged about 6 of them singly in plastic water bottles lashed together as carry on baggage. Unfortunately the specimens weren't the maculata he had hoped for, but a lesser taxon. <br /><br />That didn't stop him from releasing them in his office (he was then the National Zoo's Director) where they spun large webs -- a conversation piece and a prop for his spider love stories.Camera Trap Codgerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11052159376463794204noreply@blogger.com