This female's legs have a spread as wide as my adult male hand. Here she cleans up her web after catching the cicada which can be seen as the dark shape beneath her body

(Above)This huge, well-fed and possibly pregnant female shows delicate footwork on her web. Behind her is one of the structural girders of the web. These structural supports are another factor that makes the webs recognizable.

Very small birds have been known to be captured in the webs of these spiders

Detritus from the meals of the spider usually hang in a stream in the web as seen here (below). It is one way to identify the web although the incredible three dimensional structure is easily recognized as well

(Right:) She rests in her web above her much smaller mate. This male has been present for some weeks and seems to have passed the deadly "wooing" period

There are miles of dunes behind the beaches of the Central Coast of NSW where these spiders are the prevalent and very dominant form of life among the brush. Their huge webs clog every pathway in the evenings and mornings.

Coastal Golden Orb Weavers

Nephila sp.

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Coastal Golden Orb Weaving Spiders

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