University of California
UCCE Sonoma County
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LinkedInPosts Tagged: Chris Hamilton
Golden Orbweavers Ignore Biological Rules
Size does matter. Have you ever wondered about sexual size dimorphism in the tropical spiders, the golden orbweavers? The females are sometimes 10 times larger and 100 times heavier than their male counterparts. And the webs that the females weave are huge--they can be as wide as five feet...
A female Trichonephila clavipes (formerly Nephila clavipes) is a giant compared to her small male (below). The research covers a complex pattern of sexual size dimorphism in this group of spiders, family Nephilidae. (Image copyright by Chris Hamilton, University of Idaho)
