About Trichonephila antipodiana (Walckenaer, 1841)
This species, Trichonephila antipodiana, shows the pronounced sexual size dimorphism that is characteristic of golden orb-weaver spiders. It has a wide distribution across the Indo-Pacific region, including China, Myanmar, the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Queensland, Australia. The species is most commonly found in gardens and along the edges of mangrove swamps, and is less likely to occur inside dense forests. Like other golden orb-weavers, T. antipodiana builds large, semi-permanent orb webs using silk that has a golden color. The spider’s silk contains pyrrolidine alkaloids, which act as chemical repellents to keep ants away from the web.
