Arachnida of Taiwan

[jdsmith]

Hanging out with my neighbors.

[tempogain]

These guys are on the loose in the US and should be hitting NYC before long. There’s a bit of a panic over it.

Leave the geckos alone!

[slawa]

Who dis?

[urodacus]

@Explant

Nephila maculata / nephila pilipes

Several color morphs of N. pilipes co-exist in many places, and also several subspecies recognised around the Pacific.

see https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312552226_An_investigation_of_the_variations_in_morphometry_and_the_web_architecture_of_the_giant_wood_spider_Nephila_pilipes_in_forest_and_non-forest_habitats_in_the_Wet_Zone_of_Sri_Lanka for an example.

I don’t think there are more than one species of Nephila in Taiwan, but I’ve been wrong before…

if the legs are all equally thin and shiny, that’s a pilipes.

maculata is a synonym of pilipes (which was named by Fabricius back in 1793, so takes precedence)

you’ll usually also find several males, and a couple of Argyrodes spiders in the same web as the single female.

[urodacus]

This one is an adult male Brown huntsman spider

Heteropoda venatoria

[slawa]

I tried to catch it for a few days. Today I found it on the floor barely moving.
There is not much it can catch in the house. Probably starving.
I let it out in the garden and poured some water on the floor next to it.

[Explant]

@urodacus

@Explant

Nephila maculata / nephila pilipes

Several color morphs of N. pilipes co-exist in many places, and also several subspecies recognised around the Pacific.

see https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312552226_An_investigation_of_the_variations_in_morphometry_and_the_web_architecture_of_the_giant_wood_spider_Nephila_pilipes_in_forest_and_non-forest_habitats_in_the_Wet_Zone_of_Sri_Lanka for an example.

I don’t think there are more than one species of Nephila in Taiwan, but I’ve been wrong before…

if the legs are all equally thin and shiny, that’s a pilipes.

maculata is a synonym of pilipes (which was named by Fabricius back in 1793, so takes precedence)

you’ll usually also find several males, and a couple of Argyrodes spiders in the same web as the single female.

Awesome, thanks man.

I often wonder though if thevw main color forms that are often seen in Taiwan (brown/white and black/yellow) don’t deserve a split? Only mention that as taielwanese seem famous for being splitters, taxonomically. If the haven’t been split yet to give someone a paper and name, there must be a reason. Or maybe I’m thinking too much. My first brown one was 20 years ago, and I have been wondering about this question ever since haha.

To be fair, I never paid much attention to males, mostly the females. Now I wonder if males also express different coloration and if they cross. If they didn’t, there may be a case.

[Explant]

@slawa

I tried to catch it for a few days. Today I found it on the floor barely moving.
There is not much it can catch in the house. Probably starving.
I let it out in the garden and poured some water on the floor next to it.

Probably a male. They tend to wander and give up food for sex after their “final” molt.

If you want to try observing one. Give a spacious cage with lots of hiding (leaning bark etc) and some leaf litter for retreat. Then go for a lady. They live longer, always eat.

After all, girls just wanna eat lunch. They just wanna.