Stats

Lifespan: About 1 yr
Size: Large
Diet: Insectivore
Activity: Cathemeral
Social: Solitary
Biome: Tropical forest
Range: Australia and Oceania
Movement: Climbing
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Venom
Status: Uncommon

About

The Tiger Spider is a large orb-weaving spider native to Australia and Southeast Asia, recognized by its jet-black abdomen adorned with vivid yellow spots arranged in pairs. Females grow over 40 mm in body length and build large golden-silk webs spanning more than a metre, while males are tiny and often live at the web's edge.

Life cycle

1.
egg sac
A silk-wrapped egg sac shelters a clutch of eggs until the young are ready to emerge.
2.
juvenile
A spiderling emerges from the egg sac already in miniature adult form and starts catching prey almost immediately.
3.
subadult
A near-adult arachnid molts through several instars, growing larger and developing mature markings.
4.
adult
Fully grown after its final molt.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Family: Nephilidae
Genus: Trichonephila
Species: Trichonephila plumipes