Golden orb weaver compared with human hand

Golden Orb Spider Size Explained & Compared With Other Spiders

Last Updated on April 10, 2023 by Amin Tawar

Golden Orb Spider Length

Golden Orb Spider Size

Nephila is a genus of araneomorph spiders known for their magnificent webs, which are also known as golden silk orb-weavers or golden orb-weavers. Orb weavers are a very special type of spider. They are very docile, non-aggressive spiders that flee at the first sign of a threat and weave very beautiful and intricate webs.

The Golden Orb-weaver Spiders are large spiders with silvery-gray to plum-colored bodies and brown-black legs with yellow banding. 

Male golden orb weavers are 0.5 to 2 inches long, while females are 2 to 6 inches long. Furthermore, female Golden orb weavers can have leg spans of up to 15 cm (5.9 inches).

The female Orb weavers are almost 3 times larger in length than the male ones. And their leg span is insanely large compared to their overall body length.

Golden Orb SpiderCentimeter Inches 
Body lengthMale: 1.27-5.08 cmFemale: 0.635- 15.24 cm Male: 0.5 to 2 in Female: 2 to 6 in
Leg span 15 cm5.9 in

Golden Orb Spider Weight

Before we get into the weight of the Golden orb weavers, let’s talk about their diet. Orb weavers eat anything that gets caught in their web, including insects. 

Golden orb weavers, for example, will catch and consume various species of bees, flies, moths, beetles, and butterflies. 

Female orb-weaving spiders are larger than male spiders and weigh between 0.0066 and 0.0088 lbs (3-4 gm). It has also been observed that female Golden Orb weavers are significantly heavier than males, approximately 500 times heavier.

Black Widow SpiderPounds Kilograms 
Weight 0.0066 and 0.0088 lbs0.003-0.004 kgs

Golden Orb Spider Web Size

The Golden Orb spiders are known for their large and beautiful webs, so how can we not talk about that? 

Females of the Golden or weaver species spin massive webs of golden silk, some of which are more than three feet in diameter. The webs of this species are massive, they almost need a 1-meter space in terms of diameter to build their webs. 

How Big Can A Golden Orb Spider Get?

Golden Orb Spider Size compared with human hand

Nephila spiders, also known as Golden Orb weavers, are the largest web-spinning spiders.

They create the largest orb webs, which can measure up to 3 feet (1 meter) in diameter. Female golden orb-weavers reach sizes of 4.8-5.1 cm (1.5-2 in), not including leg span, with males typically being two-thirds smaller (less than 2.5 cm, 1 in). 

A female Nephila komaci’s body length can reach 1.5 inches (3.8 centimeters), with legs spanning 4-5 inches (10-12 centimeters).

Golden Orb Spider Vs Banana Spider Size Comparison

Golden Orb Spider Size compared with other spider

Moving on, here we compare the Golden Orb-weaver with other types of spiders such as the closely related Banana spider. 

The Banana spider, also known as the Brazilian wandering spider, is a medium-sized spider found in Central and South America. 

Males typically measure 0.25 inches (6 mm) in length, whereas females can grow to be up to 3 inches long. Furthermore, the Brazilian wandering spider can reach a length of 2 inches (50 mm). Furthermore, their leg span is 4 to 5 inches.

In comparison, the Golden Orb-weaver is smaller in weight. However, its body length is between 0.5-6 inches, while the maximum size can be double the size of the Banana spider. 

And if we look at their leg span, the Banana spider has a larger leg span, almost 2 times. Lastly, the Banana spider is much heavier than the Golden Orb-weaver. 

Spider type Body lengthLeg span Weight 
Golden Orb Weaver 0.5-6 inches 4-5 inches0.1-.14-ounce 
Banana spider0.25-3 inches 3-4 inches 0.2 ounce 

Golden Orb Weaver Vs Joro Spider Size Comparison

Golden silk spiders are similar in size and color to Joro spiders. The Joro spider is distinguished by its red markings from the other two Joro spiders and the Golden silk orb-weaver spider. Each has its own web, and the Joro can spin massive webs up to ten feet wide.

Joro spiders resemble golden silk orb-weavers in appearance. They have long legs and come in both yellow and black. 

Male golden orb weavers have a shorter body length of 0.5 to 2 inches than females. The spiders have 4-5 inch (10-12 centimeter) leg spans and weigh 0.0066-0.0088 lbs. The Golden Orb weavers are larger and heavier than Joro spiders in general.

Spider type Body lengthLeg span Weight 
Golden Orb Weaver 0.5-6 inches 4-5 inches0.1-.14-ounce 
Joro spider 0.7 in-1 inch3-4 inches 0.5 ounces

Golden Orb Weaver Vs Black Widow Size Comparison

Make Golden Orb-weaver have a shorter body length of 0.5 to 2 inches, while females have a body length of 2 to 6 inches. The spiders have leg spans of 4-5 inches (10-12 centimeters) and weigh about.

Female black widows, on the other hand, are about 25-38 mm (1-1.5 in) long. The male is about half the size of the female, measuring about 1.8 inches (3-4 mm). The average overall body length of the Black widow ranges from 3 to 10 mm. 

Furthermore, the Black widow spider’s leg span is about half an inch long. The Black widow spider weighs about 0.035 ounces. 

The Golden orb weaver is much larger than the Black widow spider in terms of total body length, leg span, and weight.

Spider type Body lengthLeg span Weight 
Golden Orb Weaver 0.5-6 inches 4-5 inches0.1-.14-ounce 
Black widow spider 0.4-1.5 inches ½ inch 0.035 ounces

Golden Orb Weaver Vs Garden Spider Size Comparison

Moving on to the last spider to compare in the list is the Garden spider. The garden spider is one of the biggest spiders in the UK. 

The large black-and-yellow garden spider is completely harmless. It forms massive circular webs in gardens and grasslands. 

Garden spiders construct massive, circular webs in gardens and grasslands. The Garden spider is approximately 1 inch long with a 3-inch leg span and weighs approximately 0.0017 ounces. 

On the other hand, the Golden Orbweaver is much larger and heavier. As you can see, the Garden spider is just 1 inch in length, while the Orb-weaver can reach up to 6 inches, and in weight to the Golden orb-weaver is much heavier than the Garden spider. 

Spider type Body lengthLeg span Weight 
Golden Orb Weaver 0.5-6 inches 4-5 inches0.1-0.14 ounce 
Garden spider 1 inch 3 inches 0.0017

Conclusion

And that was everything you need to know about the size of the Golden Orb-weaver spider. I hope this article was informative enough and you got something valuable from it.

Thank You For Reading!

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