In July when we had all that rain, there suddenly were lots of Giant Wood Spiders... You needed to walk the wood trail in our garden or wood garden, with a branch to clear these Garden Critters before having them in your face or caught in your hair. Nice Golden Silk Spiders however, and I did go back to take glamour shots of them.
The female Golden Silk Spider's body is 22-40 mm (about 1") long. The male, which you see above left of her 'butt' is only about 8 mm.
And yes, these Golden Silk Spiders are venomous but their bite is less painful than that of a bee.
Do you like them?
On July 29 I took these photos in the late afternoon with perfect light on their perfect web.
Again, the much smaller male Golden Silk Spider you see to the right at the top.
This is close to our gazebo.
Here you only see part of the male spider at the top right.
Below this post you find a link that shows two short videos with some more information...
This female is wearing fuzzy 'garter belts' around her long legs...
This shows more of her beautiful silken web and they must be very strong.
After all those torrential rains we had in June, July and August their webs remain in tact!
Another one with her male companion... Those males have the 'upper' hand it looks like.
This one is shown from the under side I guess. Shown is our neighbor's home.
This web is by far not as perfect looking. Maybe she still is weaving it?
Look, another nice one! We have so many along our wooden walk ways.
Why disturb them? They catch many a bug and with this wet monsoon season we got PLENTY of mosquitoes and you name it.
My mini cat girl Tiggy-Tiger was hiding for them, between these leaves...
Are you scared of Giant Wood Spiders?
These females from The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders book, look like they're still tiny.
Ours are true Giants and seem to be well fed and happy!
Golden Silk Spider | showing 2 videos about this giant Nephila clavipes or Wood Spider found in tropical climates
Golden Silk Orb-Weaver | showing this Nephila clavipes or Golden Silk Orb-Weaver - look at the photo showing cape made from this Spider Silk
The gown of gold spun by a million spiders that revives a lost tradition | Daily Mail Online about the silk from Golden Orb Spiders showing above cape worn by a model!
they are beautiful. we don't have them here - but we have the yellow argiopes that look rather similar for both male and female. there's one big female on the back of the house and i feed her grasshoppers. :)
ReplyDeleteDearest Theresa,
DeleteWe got the argiopes too, with their zig-zag webbing. Spiders are beautiful and their webs are works of art!
Hugs,
Mariette
Yes I am scared of spiders! Their webs are beautiful, though. I like them unless I catch them on my face :-)
ReplyDeleteDearest Tamago,
DeleteNo, not on our face, only close to them with our eyes for admiring their webs!
Hugs,
Mariette
Wow... they look wonderful...but I must not have them .....their webs are fantastic!
ReplyDeleteHappy weekend,
Love and hugs
Claudia
Dearest Claudia,
DeleteSure you must not have them in your face but they do have a very useful task in nature for catching bugs, like mosquitoes and such.
Happy weekend to you.
Hugs,
Mariette
Liebe Mariette,
ReplyDeleteFREUDE UND DANK!
Sonnige Grüße
Elisabeth
Liebe Elisabeth,
DeleteJa selbst Spinnen sind schön!
Lieber Gruẞ,
Mariette
Hi Mariette,
ReplyDeleteThis spider is huge...impressive pictures.
Enjoy your weekend.
Dearest Eva,
DeleteThe more tropical the climate, the bigger they get.
Happy weekend to you.
Hugs,
Mariette
des vraies dentellières
ReplyDeleteet une toile très résistante
Louis xv eu un habit en toile de soie d'araignées
le gros problème pour l'élevage c'est quelles se mangent entre elles
bon weekend
tendresse
edith (iris)
Chère Edith,
DeleteOh, leur soie est connu pour être le plus fort de tous mais comment rassembler assez pour une tenue complète? Et oui, élever ces araignées et leur alimentation...
Bises et bonne fin de semaine.
Mariette
Deze zijn zo groot, die poten! Ik ben niet zo bang voor veel dingen maar spinnen vind ik wel eng, vooral als ze door de kamer rennen en van de ramen vallen als ik ze sta te lappen...
ReplyDeleteBeste Marianne,
DeleteGelukkig leven deze buiten. Binnen hebben we heel zelden spinnen. Het zijn kleine crabben, die zien er net zo uit met hun 8 poten...
Fijn weekend!
Liefs,
Mariette
We have spiders called Golden Orb spiders that weave their huge webs in the summer. Their webs are really beautiful.
ReplyDeleteDearest Kay,
DeleteThis IS the Golden Silk Orb Weaver Spider! And we do have summer right now...
Happy weekend to you!
Mariette
I know spiders are so good for the environment but they still scare me a bit! Haha! Except for the little ones. Those ones I am a bit braver with. LOL!
ReplyDeleteI hope you are having a most wonderful weekend Mariette!
xo Catherine
Dearest Catherine,
DeleteSure they are good for the environment, they are needed in nature's full circle. But we don't have to play with them and as long as you don't walk in the dark, you are fine!
Happy weekend to you.
Hugs,
Mariette
Liebe Mariette,
ReplyDeletetolle Fotos. Aber ich mag Spinnen nicht. Auf deinen Fotos
kann ich sie mir genau anschauen. Es sind interessante Tiere
und man muss sie bewundern, wenn man die Netze sieht, die sie spinnen.
Danke für Zeigen und Erklären.
Ein schönes Wochenende wünscht dir
Irmi
Liebe Irmi,
DeleteJa, auf die Fotos kann man wirklich ganz gut studieren wie die aus sehen.
Ein schönes Wochenende wünsche ich dir.
Lieber Gruẞ,
Mariette
Wat een enorme spin Mariette! Ik ben blij dat wij dit formaat spinnen niet in Holland hebben!
ReplyDeleteDank je wel nog voor je lieve berichtje op mijn blog! Ik wens jou en Pieter een heel fijn weekend toe. Bij ons gaat de temperatuur langzaam omlaag, maar het is nog steeds heerlijk om buiten te zijn. Morgen weer een tea party met hopelijk zonneschijn!
Madelief x
Beste Madelief,
DeleteNee, Nederland heeft bepaald geen tropisch klimaat! Maar die hebben toch wel vaker tussen de bananen gezeten hoor. Zo komt er toch nog vaker het een en ander aan insekten het land binnen.
Veel sukses met jullie tea party en het mooie weer. Wij hebben nog steeds pech met het zomer weer...
Lieve groet,
Mariette
Liebe Mariette,
ReplyDeleteeigentlich sind die Spinnen Wunder der Natur. Hätte man ihnen eine schönere Rolle zugedacht, würden viele Menschen ihre Kunst bewundern. Ihre Netze könnten auch Traumfänger in der Natur sein.
Schöne Grüße,
Johanna
Liebe Johanna,
DeleteJa, die Traumfänger von dieser Spinnen sind viele male schöner als jenes gekauftes Exemplar. Und die Seide von diesen Spinnen ist ja auch so schön, laut Foto von mein letzter Link im Posten.
Lieber Gruẞ,
Mariette
Dearest Mariette,
ReplyDeleteI do not think there are spiders that bites you in Sweden.
But it is beautiful, your spider in your garden.
44 degrees sounds much (very hot). I wonder why you chose Georgia when you moved to America?
Enjoy your weekend!!
Hugs Astrid
Dearest Astrid,
DeleteFor sure Sweden will not have any tropical climate spiders!
Those spiders are beautiful and they do have a function too. Usually they don't come after people, they live from insects.
Sure 44°C is hot but that is only during summer in July and August. For the rest the climate is very pleasant. The reason we chose Georgia is because my husband did design the state of the art Dutch technology mushroom plant for Campbell Soup and it was to be build here in Georgia. The other was build in Texas. We don't like it here; we LOVE IT!
Happy weekend to you.
Hugs,
Mariette
Hej Mariëtte, de kleine huis en tuin spinnetjes hier gaan nog wel. Ik ben toch blij dat we die soort niet hebben.
ReplyDeleteFijn weekend, lieve groet
Beste Willy,
DeleteJa, je kunt het kleine kikkerland ook niet vergelijken met een land waar tropische insecten leven.
Ook een fijne zondag en lieve groet,
Mariette
These are very interesting spiders, Mariette! I would not want to walk into one! Yes, they are beneficial and I always try to let spider's be. If I can, I catch them and put them out when they get inside. I catch them in clear tupperware and slide a carboard under them and then get the shivers when I carry them out!
ReplyDeleteI hope you are having a good weekend and are finally drying out a bit. Hugs xo
Dearest Karen,
DeleteInteresting, beautiful and beneficial yes. You don't have to walk into them, as long as we leave them in their web; we're fine! They usually don't come after us as they dine on insects.
Let's hope we soon will be drying out!
Happy Sunday and hugs to you,
Mariette
Dear Mariette,
ReplyDeleteDear Mariette,
Such beauties - thanks for showing us them and yes, you would want to be careful walking out in the garden.
Hope you are enjoying the weekend and seeing some sunshine
hugs
Carolyn
Dearest Carolyn,
DeleteOh, we always have to watch out wherever we walk; not only for spiders!
Sunshine is the forecast for Sunday so let's hope we can dry out finally.
Happy Sunday to you and hugs,
Mariette
Ok why did I come here knowing spiders where here, they give me the creeps.....
ReplyDeleteDearest Jo-Anne,
DeleteYou are bigger and stronger than a spider! They usually don't attack us. We just have to respect them in their habitat.
Happy Sunday to you,
Mariette
Dearest Mariette,
ReplyDeleteYou has all that rain yes I has all the time too I don't like very much all the time.
You has lodt of Giant wood spiders...I don't loke them I belive not all the time Not weaving it same time.
Spiders is NOT my frinds...
The mosquitoes are useful I get more useful but I get feel not feeling like spiders.
Hugs and love to you always!
Michiko
Dearest Michiko,
DeleteYes, you and I have had enough rain it sounds like.
Glad that spiders take some mosquitoes down and calling them friends is a bit far sought but we can respect them in their natural environment.
Hugs and happy Sunday and hope you get sunshine so you can get out to play golf again.
Mariette
My dear friend Mariette,
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful spider specimen you have in your garden. I wouldn't be afraid of Giant Wood Spiders. A few days ago we saw a documentary about spider webs and it is amazing how strong they build them. Scientists found that some spider webs can withstand hurricane-force winds! Isn't cool?
Thanks for sharing this very interesting post with us,
Send you a big hug,
Love,
Laura
Dearest Laura,
DeleteOh, the silk worm threads are already very strong and the silk from this spider even stronger. If they endured that many tropical thunderstorms in our garden with lots of wind, they definitely can endure hurricane force as well. In the tropics nature just works different than in more moderate areas and insects and animals are adapted as well.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Big hugs to you and happy Sunday,
Mariette
Hello Mariette, You have the right attitude about spiders. Here in semi-tropical Northern Taiwan, they can become startlingly large, but as you say, if you leave them alone, they don't go after you.
ReplyDeleteLately I have been enjoying learning about natural history through your posts.
--Road to Parnassus
Dearest Jim,
DeleteOh, we know what you mean with startingly large, the same as we saw in Indonesia. But we never had any problem with them during the years we worked and lived there. We just have to respect nature and that's it.
Glad that you enjoyed some natural history.
Hugs,
Mariette
Dear Mariette,what an interesting post!!
ReplyDeleteOh my!!!What a big spider you have in your garden!!!
I'm affraid of them!!!But ours are much smaller than this!!
Wonderful pictures!!!Have a lovely weekend!!Hugs!!
Dimi...
Dearest Dimi,
DeleteWe got several like these and I'm not afraid of them. They belong in nature and they have a purpose.
Enjoy a lovely week ahead.
Hugs,
Mariette
I've never seen those spiders around here, Mariette. (Though I can't say that I have actually looked for them.) I never bother the spiders because they feast on so many other annoying creatures! <3
ReplyDeleteDearest Stacy,
DeleteThey might be somewhere around you as well since you're also in the South. Sure those spiders do feast on nasty bugs. Nature has its way of completing the cycle.
Hugs to you,
Mariette
I am scare with spider too!.
ReplyDeleteDearest Mariette, how are you there. wishing you a beautiful weekend.
hugs
Dearest Ayu,
DeleteNo but you don't need to touch them. Just let them be and they do good work in nature!
Today we had sunshine; after all the endless rain with flash floods.
Hugs,
Mariette
errrrr,I could not possibly live near them Mariette. I thought we had awful spiders in Australia,but not as big and gruesome as those. My skin just crawls when I see a spider or snake for that matter. I cringed just looking at the photo
ReplyDeleteDearest Jeanette Ann,
DeleteYou do have the very same spiders in Australia as well! One of your Aussie bloggers, Kays Kids, did mention them in a comment above and yes, you can look them up. She too is from the Adelaide area and if she has them, you're living with some as well.
Wishing you a great spring week.
Hugs,
Mariette
What incredible images, Mariette. I can appreciate the beauty of these webs, but I like to keep my distance from spiders.
ReplyDeleteDearest Sarah,
DeleteSure you keep your distance from them; I'm not touching them either! Just got real close for these images but I let them be and do their good work.
Happy new week to you.
Hugs,
Mariette
Excelentes fotografias....
ReplyDeleteCumprimentos
Dear Fernando,
DeleteGlad you enjoyed them!
Hugs,
Mariette