Golden Orb Web Spider, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, Cape Town by Anna Tinker
This is actually a pair of spiders. The Male Golden Orb Web Spider can be 100 times smaller than the female!
In this photo, you can see where the Golden Orb Web Spider gets its name – look how the female’s web glows gold in the sunshine.
These spiders look big and intimidating, but they’re totally harmless. And like all spiders, they bring so much good to the environment largely through keeping other insect numbers down and the ecosystem in balance.
As a South African living in UK, I love your photo. Some years ago in Madikwe Game Reserve we saw literally thousands of these spiders, the only year they have ever bred on such a scale. On early morning game drives, their webs looked truly stunning, covered in dew, and highlighted gold as the sun rose. Well done on a great pic!
Hi Toni,
Thanks for the great comments! I’ve also had the priveledge of seeing masses of webs glowing with dew in the sun- totally unforgettable. On this day in Kirstenbosch, there were also huge numbers of them. Thank you so much for sharing your story with us- it’s much appreciated and I really hope you enjoy Vanishing Species