Talk:Nephila

Untitled
Note: Need to move images to Commons.

Web Information?
I have seen a ton of these in Florida and I never once saw gold webbing or webbing in the shape of a ball. There could be two different types with regular webbing and yellow webbing.

Web Strength
I have a 1989 issue of the Guinness Book of World Records and it says that the webbing is so strong that it could ensnare humans. This should be mentioned. 205.240.146.233 (talk) 04:14, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

The web could be strong enough to ensnare a human if there was a quantity that great of it. Which there isn't anywhere. spider silk is a protein that humans have had trouble trying to re create, as it is so strong that if we could make a rope out of it, it would hold weights stronger than any ropes we make cotton and nylon etc. If you think about the size of things you see hanging off a couple of strands of an Orb weaver's web, such as a 10 inch stick 1 inch wide, just haning there.....

No their web will not trap a human, as there is not enough of it produced from a single spider to do this. If you walk into it. the web will simply wrap up all over your shirt.

If we could make a web on a human scale, yes.. it would ensnare the human easily. But this will not happen unless we manage to synthetically recreate the proteins of spider silk.

The comment stating that humans can become ensnared, and that it should be mentioned. I have one task for you, go out into a forest or a backyard, get a stick.. move it through part of a spider's web.. see how it wraps up? do you really think it would hold you back from moving on such a small scale? If you still think so, I do not know what planet you are on.

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 220.244.123.56 (talk • contribs)

Stub?
Well, does this constitute as a stub article? I mean, are they mentioned in history or have any other thing that could be added? Or is this as long as it needs to be?

Poison?
Is this spider poisonous? If so, how poisonous? I think that this information would definitely add to the definition.


 * Nephila clavipes is definitely not venomous to humans, although I assume that like other spiders it can inject venom into its prey, I would imagine that if one of the genus is not venomous, so are the rest, but I don't know that as a fact. jimfbleak 07:07, 8 March 2006 (UTC)


 * They are not venomous, but their bite is very painful and can cause shock. Rusty2005 14:48, 8 July 2006 (UTC)


 * I consulted this article to see if these spiders were venemous or not. I think it would be a good idea for someone who is knowledgeable on this subject to introduce this information into the main text.--Skb8721 14:06, 23 September 2006 (UTC)


 * The article now contradicts itself, saying that the venom is both lethal and non-lethal to humans. Which is it? Anty (talk) 08:43, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

This spider will not kill a human, I have personally been bitten by a Golden Orb Weaver in my backyard. A Bee sting hurts more than an Orb Weavers bite, and I don't even think a bee sting is all that painful.

To get bitten by an Orb weaver is difficult (you really have to scare them bad, or annoy the hell out of them for a while, or grab them), these guys spend the majority of their life sitting in the web they build and are not after trouble with humans, they know and can clearly see with their eyes that you are bigger than them, and are not dumb enough to pick a fight with you.

If you go to pick this spider up, remember that you are entering it's home, treat it like any other living thing. you dont just walk into your neighbours house and grab them on the face, so if you go to grab a spider.. it will think you want to hurt it.

Remember how many times bigger than this spider and intimidating you are to it, (it is not the other way around, put yourself into the spider's shoes).

At first it will not move when you touch it's web, but if you get close enough they will walk across the web to get away from you (in my opinion, not an aggressive spider).

If you put your hand on the spider and you get hold of it - expect to be bitten and YES you will deserve it. (What do you expect? a thank you gesture?)

Spiders in general are not out to get all humans, to even get bitten you must have either been really unlucky and did not see it (stepped on it, brushed into it), or you were trying to hurt it, in which case you probably deserved it!

If you want to pick up a spider, you should let it walk onto you naturally, put ur hand down in its wandering path..or move a stick behind it to get it to move onto your hand (Keep your hand dead still so the spider thinks it is just a normal surface), wear gloves if you are worried, to get the spider back off, put the stick in its path again and let it walk onto the stick, then just put the stick back on the ground.

You are lucky if you see a Golden orb wandering around, and probably best not to hassle it when it's just chillin' out in it's web.

Spiders should be flicked off if they land on you, brushing them off is the mistake people make and get bitten. because it scares the spider. This goes for all spiders, flick dont brush!

If a spider is in your home, I understand if you wish to kill it, but if you get the chance, just mop up their web with a broom or stick and scoop up the spider with a tub and throw it in the garden.

If the spider is on the ceiling, put a plastic tub under it hard up against the ceiling, MOST spiders will drop into the tub when scared, especially furry spiders such as the huntsman or wolf spider. Slide the lid over it and shake the spider into the garden.

More spiders means less flies and moths etc. They aren't so bad after all.

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 220.244.123.56 (talk • contribs)

Wood Spider
Nephila spiders in India usually go by the common name of Giant Wood Spiders. Wonder if that name can be included. Shyamal 08:06, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

Spider video
there is another version. It's is much longer and contains more footage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B81ZzU7hJPY

Size
How big is this type of spider? I can't see the info on the page. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 142.162.239.103 (talk) 21:34, 7 December 2006 (UTC).

I have seen these spiders range in size from 1 inch long bodies with 2 inch leg span to roughly the size of a regular size dinner plate (leg spread) withthe body being about 6 inches long. This was in South Florida.

I was stationed in Okinawa in the late 1980's and I saw dozens of Banana spiders that ranged from 3" to almost 5" in body length. They usually made their webs between trees or between light poles.

The largest specimin I have ever seen was in Central Florida, and it was roughly 10-12 inches in diameter, however the typical size in south Florida is about half that. So the bird eating thing is believable, if it were a small bird. And funny thing, my brother who is about 6'2" poked it with a stick, (it had a web at the top of 2 palm trees) and the spider actually knocked the stick out of his hand. Ftfan35 (talk) 05:02, 6 October 2010 (UTC)

Zelda Spiders?
I swear these things look like they inspired those skull spiders in the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time! They even have the skull-like markings!

Cockroaches
I'd like to see a citation on the claim of fear of cockroaches. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.86.140.144 (talk) 02:00, 14 September 2008 (UTC)

Bird Eater
The bits about an Aussie golden orb weaver big enough to eat a bird has cropped up. I think it's bullcrap. There's only one source, the UK Telegraph, that font of indisputable news... I'll investigate further. JQ (talk) 22:06, 23 October 2008 (UTC)

Insane Lie?
"Fishermen on coasts of the indopacific ocean remove Nephila webs and form them into a ball, which is thrown into the water. There it unfolds and is used to catch bait fish.[2]"

Surely this is an insane lie?! 121.44.118.184 (talk) 12:43, 24 October 2008 (UTC)

Banana?
Banana spider redirects here; in the external links section, "banana spider" is mentioned as well, but the whole article body never mentions the term. Can someone explain in the article why this spider is also known as banana spider? Han-Kwang (t) 07:44, 29 October 2008 (UTC)

The body of the Golden silk orb-weaver looks vaguely like a small banana. Perhaps the article should include common names? Dcoxen (talk) 23:05, 28 May 2011 (UTC)

Chemical composition and Web color
The article says that "Xanthurenic acid, two quinones and an unknown fourth compound" are what creates the color. This is extremely specific scientific information, and has no source linked to it. I have checked the online sources, and external links and not found any mention of that. I've only spent about 45 minutes to an hour searching though. I think with information this specific, which is something that would obviously be used in a paper (thats how I've come to this problem) it is integral to have its source linked. I also searched briefly on google, but the only things I found related to "Golden orb weaver" and "xanthurenic acid" were either un-sourced and unscientific sites, or just obviously quoting wikipedia. If anyone knows where the source comes from, please add it. Otherwise, I personally think it should be taken out. It just doesn't seem to be verifiable. Thoughts or suggestions? Thanks. LeZombee (talk) 21:00, 12 May 2011 (UTC

Golden orb attempts to eat (and kills) river snake
In the main article, the spider "attempts" to eat the snake (four photos).

Eyewitness, photographer: "You could see the spider just chewing into it and the part which the spider was eating had gone all black and the insides were bubbling." After an hour-long fight, the snake died from the venom. http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2012/04/19/215081_local-news.html

Could someone insert this? I think it's pretty cool.

Shlishke (talk) 06:58, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

spider identification
The yellow and black garden spider can commonly be mistaken for a banana spider. These garden spiders however, are not poisonous.

Can anyone identify if this is a banana spider? I live in the Foothills of the Applacian Mountains in North Georgia, USA if that helps. I think it is a banana spider. It makes wonderful webs around my door frames. -- Тимофей ЛееСуда . 20:19, 27 September 2012 (UTC)

Cape
That cape is freakin beautiful! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.119.70.195 (talk) 01:53, 7 September 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
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YouTube video
WP:RS seems very clear to me that a YouTube video is not a reliable source, hence [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Golden_silk_orb-weaver&type=revision&diff=802082607&oldid=802081940 this edit], later undone. WP:RS says: like text sources, media sources must be produced by a reliable third party and be properly cited – a YouTuber, however well known, is not a "reliable third party". WP:RSSELF applies: self-published media are largely not acceptable. ... personal pages on social networking sites, tweets, and posts on Internet forums are all examples of self-published media. See also WP:UGC.

The video could be added as an External link, in my view (although I suspect even this will be disputed), but cannot be used to support any assertion in the text of the article which requires a reliable published source. Peter coxhead (talk) 10:38, 25 September 2017 (UTC)

Many references do not refer to species in this genus
This article faces a very serious problem; the majority of the cited sources refer to species presently in the genus Trichonephila rather than Nephila. Someone is going to need to carefully evaluate any such outdated sources, and move them and the information therein to the Trichonephila article. Dyanega (talk) 17:38, 29 April 2020 (UTC)