Golden Silk Orb Weaver, Nephila sp.

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There are over 150 species of golden silk orb-weavers world wide. I found one that has a unique visual feature on the ventral view.

If you look carefully, there appear a human-like face and a rib-cage.

This spider was found among tall grass and bushes in the rain forest, Pahang, Malaysia, at 1000 m above sea level.

Neoscona Punctigera (Ghost spider)

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Ghost spider

The Neoscona punctigera has a nickname, ghost spider. As the name suggests, it is active during the night hunting and rest during the day. At night, it constructs spiraling web to trap prey. Unlike other spider which leave the web as it is, the ghost spider takes down the web during the day. It does so by eating the web and will be recycled. They are mostly found resting on leaves, branches, or rocks.

It is also called "monkey spider" by some people. The name is a result of its appearance when it is resting (dorsal view: see photograph)



Better photograph quality at: https://flic.kr/p/e7dSfN

The abdomen looks like there are eyes there. When at rest, the legs are folded such that it looks like a smiling monkey with hands touching the head (imagine the abdomen is the monkey head).



These photographs were taken in Selangor, Malaysia.