A Golden Orb Spider shortly after shedding its exoskeleton. The new exoskeleton is still soft and takes time to dry and harden, so the spider looks limp.
Their huge nets are all over the island now. Carry a stick while hiking to clear the path in front of you, I've even seen a web across Cable Road! It's a pretty icky feeling walking into one of these webs by mistake and it's really hard to get the tough strands out of your hair and clothes. I speak from experience. Fortunately, the spiders scurry away quickly when their webs are disturbed and never seem to attack any big, dumb animals damaging their webs...
These extremely common spiders have so much to eat now as many flying insects, like the White Ants, are swarming these weeks, many ending up in the large webs. They're growing quickly now and will soon become almost as big as a hand, so they' have to shed their inflexible exoskeletons quite frequently.
Here's a photo shot by
Melon of Run 2 Tree Studio, during our eco-tour to Pak Kok last Sunday morning, eco-tour #4 of the Conservancy Association,
The Lamma Greenhouse.