Australian Golden Orbweaver

Trichonephila edulis · Order: Araneae · Family: Araneidae

Also called: Australian Golden Orb-weaver, Edible Golden Silk Spider, Golden Orbweb Spider

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Australian Golden Orbweaver
Photo: unknown, CC0

Females can grow up to 40 mm long while males stay around 7 mm. The spider has a black cephalothorax with white markings, a yellow underside, and a grey-brown abdomen. It breeds from February to May and lays about 380 eggs. Related tiger spiders (Trichonephila plumipes) are also common in Australia.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

The species is edible and is considered a delicacy in New Guinea, where it is plucked from its web and lightly roasted.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

Breeding occurs from February to May, producing an average of about 380 eggs.

Source: Wikipedia

When you see it

The breeding season runs from February through May.

Source: Wikipedia

Lookalikes

It is closely related to the tiger spider, Trichonephila plumipes, which also occurs in Australia.

Source: Wikipedia

More photos

Australian Golden Orbweaver photo 3
Photo: unknown, CC0
Australian Golden Orbweaver photo 4
Photo: jirau, CC BY-SA
Australian Golden Orbweaver photo 5
Photo: Carly Young, CC BY
Australian Golden Orbweaver photo 6
Photo: Sockrosma, CC BY

Same family (Araneidae)

Cross OrbweaverCross OrbweaverAraneus diadematusCan biteYellow Garden SpiderYellow Garden SpiderArgiope aurantiaCan biteSpotted OrbweaverSpotted OrbweaverNeoscona cruciferaCan biteGolden Silk SpiderGolden Silk SpiderTrichonephila clavipesCan biteFurrow OrbweaverFurrow OrbweaverLarinioides cornutusCan biteJoro SpiderJoro SpiderTrichonephila clavataCan bite

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichonephila_edulis

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

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