The Batik Orb-weaver Nephila antipodiana

With a leg span of up to 6 inches and body length up to 1.5 inches, this is one of the largest orb-weavers in the world. The sight of such huge spider with a web of 1 meter in diameter can be intimidating for some people but otherwise would simply instill awe and admiration. Because of their large size and the fact that they live in even larger webs, meeting one of them is not really that difficult. The Nephila antipodiana is in fact a rather common spider in places of moderately high altitude and cool temperature.

Newly hatched N. antipodiana spiderlings. The nest is in between branches near the web.

A juvenile female.

A Nephila antipodiana following a successful moult.

This is a really big momma. I say that because the size of the female is much larger than the male. It is like comparing a goat and a full grown elephant, and I am not referring to the imported boer. In some webs the males can be seen lurking at the edges, feeding on smaller insects that got trapped but ignored by the female. He might have to compete with the cunning argyrodes, commonly known as dewdrop spiders, which also make a female nephila web as their dining hall.

The smaller male is trying to mate with the female below. Mating can take quite a while.

These little dewdrop spiders are easiest to be found in webs of larger spiders. Several argyrodes species have been found to make a living from looting a nephila’s web. Such behaviour is known as kleptoparatism and studies have indicated that a web with too many argyrodes can severely retard the growth of a nephila. The host sometimes chases them away but most of the time they got to the prey faster and cut part of the web silk away to mask the prey’s vibration. Although argyrodes is of similar size and can be of similar colours to the male nephila, both can be easily distinguished from the body shape where the latter has a flatter abdomen.

A matured male waiting at the edge of a female's web.

There are 2 other nephila species I have found in Malaysia- N. pilipes and N. kuhlii. The webs are almost similar except that N. antipodiana usually has a second or third screen web of slightly different mesh pattern and sort of curved away from the main web where the spider resides. Sometimes several nephila webs area attached together creating a complex of mega webs like a massive fortress. I have heard accounts of small forest birds being snared in such formidable structures.

The range of this spider is wide with records ranging from China to New Zealand. They make webs almost anywhere possible- between branches, telephone cables, open ceilings and fences. Because they are huge and look menacing, I imagine it can easily cause discomfort to most people whenever a nephila is seen nearby human habitat. The natural tendency of most human behaviour is to expel the spider or kill it. This is unnecessary as orb weavers are generally gentle spiders and does not attack human, however gruesome they may look. A population of nephila in any neighborhood will reduce several kinds of pest insects which have been shown in several studies related to biological control of crop pest. Their huge webs and the tendency to cluster create a formidable defense against medium and large flying insects. For the smaller flyers, the males and argyrodes will take care of them.

A female coming out from a moult.

Some time recently a group of people in Madagascar made a fabric out of the silk of a nephila species local to that region. It took 4 years to collect and weave an 11’ x 4’ textile from the extraction of a million spiders. By weight, spider silk is stronger than steel and can stretch up to 40% of its length without breaking. It is interesting to know the extent of spider silk in science and industry which scientist believe can lead to revolutionary materials. But unlike silk worms they cannot be raised in captivity without them cannibalizing one another.

Spiders on NTV7's The Breakfast Show.

Recently I was invited by a national television company to talk about macro photography and spiders. It was initiated when a senior producer in NTV7 was interested in the photos I published in my facebook in the Macro Mania album. So we corresponded via email on the particulars and agreed to have on The Breakfast Show of Thursday 21 January 2010.

My friend Marcus was also invited to the show as he is also a spider enthusiast. To make things more realistic and fun, we decided to go to the set wearing our usual outdoor outfit, which for Marcus means his short pants. Against the pleas of some people I insisted on wearing my signature macro shirt and the turtle sanctuary hat which had been with me for many years. I felt very excited to appear on TV for the first time but when the program day drew close, usual nervousness started to creep in. Now, how if I make a fool of myself on live TV? Yes, it’s live.




Fortunately the Breakfast Show crew team had been very helpful which reflected their experience and professionalism. The senior producer of the show, Tengku Firhad, greeted us at Sri Pentas lounge before bringing us through the maze of the Media Prima complex for make up. I think the last time I had make up was when I was in a stage play back in primary school. Those are not memories I really fond of.

The Breakfast Show starts on 8.30am every weekday. For that day we will be the first guests with my slot starting at about 9am, I think. The lovely hosts were Joanne de Rozario and Aishah Sinclair who greeted us when the show was on commercial break. Me and Marcus sat on a sofa opposite them and when the crew gave the cue that we are on air, my mind simply went blank. All prior preparations suddenly vaporized and I felt at the mercy of the ladies.




It was not much of a slaughter actually as they have been very kind to make sure the show went smooth. I admit that I was nervous and tended to mumble rather than speaking like what people usually do on TV. Earlier I sent 20 photos to be used in the show and when we got to the part of talking about the photos, the first one shown was a female Argyrodes with her newly hatched babies. I think that was considered the most decent photo being talked about during the show. The next ones were about mating, courting, predation and mating again. Having to describe the mating process of animals to celebrity girls on live TV was not what I had in mind earlier.

At a point during the show we had a live call with the GM of Epson Malaysia who shared on their recent initiatives to promote photography in Malaysia such as bringing in Steve McCurry to conduct workshops here. There will be a photo contest soon with Mr. McCurry as the judge so stay tune to their website in February for details. The next guest that day was Vince from Akademi Fantasia.








There were a lot of other subjects which I wish I talked about during the show, especially on the importance of spider in our environment and conservation of the endangered species. The show was about 20-30 minutes and I believe it was a good one with a lot of facts about spiders has been shared. Nevertheless there are other fascinating information and messages that I would like to pass across to Malaysians. It is my hope that I can do it here in my blog with you.

Watch the program online here (go to Part 3) THE BREAKFAST SHOW 10 - 21 January 2010

The biodiversity of Malaysia

I feel privileged to be born and raised in Malaysia. While some people (sometimes including myself) complain about fuel price, toll, traffic jam, and about fifty gazillions other stuffs, I admit that we live in a place which is blessed with extremely beautiful flora and fauna. Just look at the colourful corals of Perhentian Island and the greens of Fraser's Hill which are objects of envy for those not blessed with tropical climate. For a nature lover, Malaysia is simply one of the few places on earth which is closest to the seventh heaven.

To appreciate the vast biodiversity in Malaysian rainforest you don't have to go deep. Even at the suburbs and forest edges we can find plenty of wild life from arthropods to small mammals. The roads that connect the major towns sometimes pass through dense forests and at times travelers can witness even more spectacular creatures such as tapirs and gibbons. Of course you cannot expect to see these if you are using the highways.

Perhaps most of the large mammals in our rainforests have been discovered and documented by science. If there is any more awaiting discovery, they are most likely to dwell in the remote untouched forests such as the Royal Belum and the Maliau Basin. While I am equally fascinated by the flair of the flying fox and the agility of linsang, my prime interest belongs to the world of the tiny and often forgotten arachnids. Related under the same phylum to the insect, arachnids are 8 legged creatures with no back bone and sort of primitive in their behaviour. They can't swim nor can the fly. The most interesting of all is the spider.

This blog is about spiders that I have found and photographed since 2006. I will also talk about my journey in finding as many spiders in the wild and my attempt to photograph them. While photos are nice to view, the most important message I want to broadcast is about conservation of our flora and fauna. Rapid development, climate change and deforestation have drastically affecting the survival of our wild life with many species not found anywhere else in the world. These are our national treasure, an inheritance which should not be taken for granted.