sgbeachbum: orb spider

Sunday, January 22, 2012

golden orb web spider @ bukit brown - Jan2012

I had come across golden orb spider webs at many locations around Singapore before and I had always wondered why these spiders had been called so. I had never noticed anything 'golden' about the previously sighted webs.

I had just visited what was supposed to be the largest graves at the Bukit Brown Cemetary (distinctly visible on Google maps) and was on my way out when someone else in the group spotted a large orb web close to the path.

Click on the map pic above for a larger view. The grave is below the 'X'. Compare the size of the grave to the houses lining Lornie Road. It's gianourmous!

The orb web had 3 layers parallel to each other with one large female orb web spider on the central layer with a smaller red male towards the top of the same layer which the female was on.

The clip was shot at about 11 am and the sunlight hit it from almost directly overhead. The golden appearance of the web was clearly visible. It was then the name of this group of spiders made sense. An 'A-Ha' moment for sure.

A while later, i came across another golden orb spider. This one seemed to be bothered by tiny flies which were harassing it. This one also had a noticeable golden tinge to the web.