Banana Spiders!?

[yogamasterbob]

when i was stationed in okinawa there was a large orb weaver that we called banana spiders. Is there some way I can acquire one of these over the internet?
this was the best picture I ever got of one so here's what it looks like.

 

[yogamasterbob]

also, can anyone identify this spider? I've seen them up to 3 inches in length maybe larger. any information would be helpful.

 

[Gigas]

the best i can do is say it may be a Nephillia sp

 

[Henry Kane]

Here you go yogamasterbob...

link

As Gigus said, most likely some species of Nephila. Even in the blurred picture, the coloring looks intense.
I have seen different species of Nephila available for sale on occasion but they're pretty rare on dealer's lists. Best you can do is keep an eye on different dealer's sites or maybe post some wanted ads.

Good luck finding some.

Gary

 

[Stylopidae]

There are some nephilia species that are native to the US (or maybe introduced...either way, they're here )

See if you can make friends with some of the people from their native habitat.

 

[ectic]

Give me a month (summertime) I mean there is a lot here I think. I will send you pictures. By the way we call it banana spider too in Canada

 

[JungleGuts]

i remember when i was younger we had one of those living in the bushs on the side of my house, me and my bros always threw insects in the web it was pretty sweet

 

[yogamasterbob]

not as cuddly as a tarantula but very cool, thanks for the info everybody!

 

[The Snark]

She probably be Nephila Pilipes. One of the 'golden orb weavers'. Cosmopolitan, the giant 'banana' version is found from Australia throughout most of S.E. Asia.

 

[Amanda]

We've always had banana spiders in our guava trees. I'll keep my eyes out.

 

[Ganoderma]

definatly looks Nephila like. perhaps pilipes.

here are some pics of some of the N. pilipes i have found. i am currently trying to figure out a good way for me to house them without taking up too much space. Its one of the spiders i plan on tryin gto breed, along with Argyrodes sp.

cool spider, but this specie gets much larger than 3" legspan. the body alone can get 3", with a leg span of 5-6". pretty good sized spiders. and teh webs are equally impressive.

perhaps smaller species such as certain argiopes would be more suitable for home keeping? from a size standpoint anyway. although it is incredibly fun watching them eat large food items, if they dont run.

 

[spinnekop]

Does anybody knows the difference between Nephila pilipes and maculata.
I have the feeling these species are pretty well mixed-up on several websites.
In my opinion, this is NOT Nephila pilipes but N. maculata

see here some pics....
http://www.xs4all.nl/~ednieuw/australian/nephila/Nephila.html

http://members.tripod.com/chinfahshin/spiders/spider007.html

http://www.richard-seaman.com/Insects/Japan/Spiders/GiantWood/

 

[Ganoderma]

i am honestly a little confused about the id, trying to find some good resources. here are a couple links i have found usefull. by everything i read thsi looks like maculata as well, but i have been told (although they were hunting beetles, not spiders) that is is pilipes. i am still trying to find some decent info, lots around for macualta, but i havn't found much about pilipes.

sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/hkjo/view/27/2700266.pdf
http://www.southindianspiders.com/south-indian-spiders3.htm#maculata
http://zoolstud.sinica.edu.tw/Journals/43.1/112.pdf all mine were around location #12 on pg 4, and further south/west.
this picture is labelled as N. pilipes, pg 143: http://163.20.110.141/ccg03/twspider/143.htm
http://163.20.110.141/ccg03/twspider/144.htm

another picture. i have read that immature maculata can be a browny tan colour. however this individual was living comfortably at a good 5- inch legspan. larger than the above pics. its web alone was arround 11 feet wide!

 

[spinnekop]

Ganoderma, the last picture you show looks more like Nephila Kuhlii (which has the same size as maculata).
However, seaching for references throughout the internet doesn't seem a good way to ID your spider since you can't really be sure if the spiders are correctly labeled on the several sites. I'll check if I can find more info at the museum of Natural History in Brussels. I am as confused as you are.
Se here again my question....
Can anybody provide a clear IDkey for N. pilipes and N. maculata???

 

[Ganoderma]

this is the closest i have found describing N. maculata. still not great though.
sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/hkjo/view/27/2700266.pdf

 

[xgrafcorex]

yoga, i can find these very easily near my house. there are a few pics mixed in with these posts...

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showpost.php?p=655038&postcount=23

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showpost.php?p=655041&postcount=24

if you are interested, i could collect a couple..or try to find a breeding pair. they need a decent sized enclosure though, they make very large webs as i'm sure you know. pm me if you want to work something out.

 

[Tarantula]

I have never heard of Nephilas as "Banana spiders". Phoenutria fera is called banana spider over here..

 

[Ganoderma]

common names are crap look at his picture definatly nephila looking.

the ones in florida are clavata are they not?

 

[xgrafcorex]

the ones in florida are clavata are they not?

from what i've read, the ones near me are nephila clavipes

http://www.floridanature.org/species.asp?species=Nephila_clavipes