# What kind of gigantic spider is in this picture? \[WARNING: Picture of gigantic spider.\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 24, 2009, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gigantic-spider-is-in-this-picture-warning-picture-of-gigantic-spider/504090 "2009-07-24T05:52:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gigantic-spider-is-in-this-picture-warning-picture-of-gigantic-spider/504090/1 "2009-07-24T05:52:45Z")
[Yes, this is a picture of a gigantic spider.](http://greenselipar.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/kuching-giant-spider-bako.jpg) Well, gigantic by my standards, anyway. What kind is it? Is it actually as large as it seems? ---
**Author:** ![Anaglyph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Anaglyph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaglyph)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gigantic-spider-is-in-this-picture-warning-picture-of-gigantic-spider/504090/2 "2009-07-24T06:24:30Z")
That seems to be a Golden Orb Spider, which, allowing for some perspective effects, can grow to large enough size that your picture appears to be real. Searching google pictures for “[golden orb spiders](http://images.google.ch/images?hl=de&q=golden%20orb%20spider&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi)” yields several independent similar size comparison pictures, e.g. [this](http://img2.travelblog.org/Photos/841/8102/f/41728-Golden-Orb-Spider-1.jpg) or [this](http://img2.travelblog.org/Photos/841/8102/f/41728-Golden-Orb-Spider-1.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gigantic-spider-is-in-this-picture-warning-picture-of-gigantic-spider/504090/3 "2009-07-24T06:37:16Z")
> [@Anaglyph](#): > > That seems to be a Golden Orb Spider, which, allowing for some perspective effects, can grow to large enough size that your picture appears to be real. Searching google pictures for “[golden orb spiders](http://images.google.ch/images?hl=de&q=golden%20orb%20spider&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi)” yields several independent similar size comparison pictures, e.g. [this](http://img2.travelblog.org/Photos/841/8102/f/41728-Golden-Orb-Spider-1.jpg) or [this](http://img2.travelblog.org/Photos/841/8102/f/41728-Golden-Orb-Spider-1.jpg) Beautiful! And here I thought it would be an Australian-only animal, but various species are apparently found all around the world. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gigantic-spider-is-in-this-picture-warning-picture-of-gigantic-spider/504090/4 "2009-07-24T06:43:00Z")
Used to see lots of them when I lived on Lamma Island in Hong Kong. Yes, they really are that big. ETA: coincidentally, the [Wikipedia article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_silk_orb-weaver) has a picture of one that is captioned “N. maculata on Lamma Island, Hong Kong” - so maybe I lived in an acknowledged nest of these things. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gigantic-spider-is-in-this-picture-warning-picture-of-gigantic-spider/504090/5 "2009-07-24T07:55:11Z")
I would need psychiatric care if I walked into one of those webs. A walked into a garden spider web once and it didn’t break. I backed out and…. you can imagine the get-the-spider-off-me dance that ensued. I knocked the spider out of the web with a garden hose (seemed appropriate) and washed it down the street but (I swear to God) it started walking back to it’s point of origin. That wasn’t gonna happen. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gigantic-spider-is-in-this-picture-warning-picture-of-gigantic-spider/504090/6 "2009-07-24T08:30:38Z")
How could you post a picture of a gigantic spider without saying _ **how** _ gigantic it is? You have betrayed our trust. ---
**Author:** ![schnuckiputzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@schnuckiputzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/schnuckiputzi)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gigantic-spider-is-in-this-picture-warning-picture-of-gigantic-spider/504090/7 "2009-07-24T10:51:15Z")
Holy hell – whose hand is that?? And why?? Why isn’t there a flame thrower in the photo???:eek: ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gigantic-spider-is-in-this-picture-warning-picture-of-gigantic-spider/504090/8 "2009-07-24T11:26:50Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I would need psychiatric care if I walked into one of those webs. A walked into a garden spider web once and it didn’t break. I backed out and…. you can imagine the get-the-spider-off-me dance that ensued. I knocked the spider out of the web with a garden hose (seemed appropriate) and washed it down the street but (I swear to God) it started walking back to it’s point of origin. That wasn’t gonna happen. It was a mommy struggling back to its nest of babies. Hundreds of little tiny leggy babies. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gigantic-spider-is-in-this-picture-warning-picture-of-gigantic-spider/504090/9 "2009-07-24T12:20:00Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > It was a mommy struggling back to its nest of babies. Hundreds of little tiny leggy babies. 🙂 Hundreds of _temporarily_ tiny leggy babies…soon to be huge, hungry adults. In your yard. ---
**Author:** ![busterpickle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@busterpickle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/busterpickle)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gigantic-spider-is-in-this-picture-warning-picture-of-gigantic-spider/504090/10 "2009-07-24T12:24:02Z")
Hey, not meaning to detract the thread here, but could one cultivate an Orb Weaver into being that big? ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gigantic-spider-is-in-this-picture-warning-picture-of-gigantic-spider/504090/11 "2009-07-24T12:30:16Z")
> [@electronbee](#): > > Hey, not meaning to detract the thread here, but could one cultivate an Orb Weaver into being that big? Probably, with a reliable food source. If one lived next to a Dickensian orphanage, for example. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gigantic-spider-is-in-this-picture-warning-picture-of-gigantic-spider/504090/12 "2009-07-24T13:05:05Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > [Yes, this is a picture of a gigantic spider.](http://greenselipar.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/kuching-giant-spider-bako.jpg) Well, gigantic by my standards, anyway. What kind is it? Is it actually as large as it seems? Hmmm.. must tighten up perimeter security at the facility. Phase Two specimens should not be found outside of their containment units yet… May need to boost time table. ---
**Author:** ![arseNal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@arseNal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arseNal)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gigantic-spider-is-in-this-picture-warning-picture-of-gigantic-spider/504090/13 "2009-07-24T13:12:59Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Beautiful! And here I thought it would be an Australian-only animal, but various species are apparently found all around the world. Hehe. It’s not like the picture’s URL gives any clue that it was taken in Malaysia or anything 😛 ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gigantic-spider-is-in-this-picture-warning-picture-of-gigantic-spider/504090/14 "2009-07-24T13:22:03Z")
The file name is kuching-giant-spider-bako.jpg. I misread that at first, seeing the first letter as a F. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gigantic-spider-is-in-this-picture-warning-picture-of-gigantic-spider/504090/15 "2009-07-24T13:23:29Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > How could you post a picture of a gigantic spider without saying _ **how** _ gigantic it is? You have betrayed our trust. Concur. The words “gigantic spider” were insufficiently descriptive. Next time, please replace with “spider the size of a motherf&cking Alaskan King crab.” ---
**Author:** ![filling\_pages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gigantic-spider-is-in-this-picture-warning-picture-of-gigantic-spider/504090/16 "2009-07-24T14:01:10Z")
Oh, sure, around here we call them banana spiders, and they’re everywhere. Giant yellow beasts with huge webs. Luckily, they’re not harmful to people, just unpleasant if you walk into them in the middle of the night when you’re out catching your mom’s dang yorkie dog that’s made an escape while you were bringing your laundry in to do while housesitting. Not that I would know. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gigantic-spider-is-in-this-picture-warning-picture-of-gigantic-spider/504090/17 "2009-07-24T15:23:28Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > How could you post a picture of a gigantic spider without saying _ **how** _ gigantic it is? You have betrayed our trust. Is this like a reverse of the SDMB kitten rule now? All pictures of spiders must be accompanied by a measurement. ---
**Author:** ![J\_Cubed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@J\_Cubed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/J_Cubed)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gigantic-spider-is-in-this-picture-warning-picture-of-gigantic-spider/504090/18 "2009-07-24T15:30:52Z")
> [@filling\_pages](#): > > Oh, sure, around here we call them banana spiders, and they’re everywhere. Giant yellow beasts with huge webs. Luckily, they’re not harmful to people, just unpleasant if you walk into them in the middle of the night when you’re out catching your mom’s dang yorkie dog that’s made an escape while you were bringing your laundry in to do while housesitting. > > Not that I would know. Umm, just let the spider catch the dog. Go out in an hour and pull it off the web. No more escapes… ---
**Author:** ![Iggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Iggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggins)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gigantic-spider-is-in-this-picture-warning-picture-of-gigantic-spider/504090/19 "2009-07-24T16:20:53Z")
[Obligatory link of Orb Spider capturing bird.](http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/featured/giant-spider-devouring-bird/13547) _WARNING_ Spider Larger Than King Crab… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![633squadron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/ee59a6/32.png) [@633squadron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/633squadron)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gigantic-spider-is-in-this-picture-warning-picture-of-gigantic-spider/504090/20 "2009-07-24T17:21:30Z")
> [@filling\_pages](#): > > Luckily, they’re not harmful to people Wikipedia says they have [potent but non-lethal neurotoxin poison](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_silk_orb-weaver#Nephila_and_humans). I’m not afraid of spiders, but a neurotoxin is so painful it makes you want to die! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gigantic-spider-is-in-this-picture-warning-picture-of-gigantic-spider/504090.md?page=2)