Of
all the spiders in Florida, the female Golden Orb Spider has the
longest leg span and weaves the most conspicuous webs. A full
grown female is over 100 times the size of a full grown male.
A web is frequently home to several males, some of which may be
eaten by the female if food becomes scarce.
The
female invests massive amounts of nutrients in web building and may
not have the nutritional potential to rebuild her web if it is destroyed.
Before repairing her web she will eat the old one, receiving the nutrition
necessary to rebuild.
The
sticky glue on the silk threads of the web may be irritating to some
people. In order to glide over the sticky silk of this web, the spider
extrudes an oil out of its legs. The silk of the golden orb is extremely
strong. A single strand would have to be a half mile long before it
would break from its own weight. It withstands twice as much stretching
as nylon.
