Nephila

Nephila is a genus of araneomorph spiders.[1]

A female banana spider

They are also known as the golden silk orb-weavers, golden orb-weavers, giant wood spiders, or banana spiders. Males are smaller than females. Females often get a choice to mate and share gifts with their mates.

Nephila spiders have large sexual dimorphism in size, with females being much larger than males.

Nephila species are often parasitized by Argyrodes, a genus of very small black-and-silver spiders. These small spiders are kleptoparasitic: they live by stealing food from their hostess.

References
  1. Harvey, Mark S.; Austin, Andrew D.; Adams, Mark 2007. The systematics and biology of the spider genus Nephila (Araneae:Nephilidae) in the Australasian region. Invertebrate Systematics 21 (5): 407.


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