This afternoon I returned to my Nephila pilipes web. The three males were still there as well as the dragonfly below. Took this shot but could not adequately focus - but here it is
This is the cephalothorax of the female Nephila pilipes. You can see the reflection of my flash in two of her eyes (in the black area at the front of her cephalothorax
and an invading Argyrodes - with glue drops on the circumferential silk fibers
Another view
The web - just yellow golden drops of glue on the circumferential fibers
Another example
A male Nephila pilipes. Note the eyes
Against the sky - you can see the tubes on his palps, used to inject sperm into the female
Another view
Dorsal view - the eyes are clearly seen
Another dorsal view
Closeup - clear view of the eyes
Another view
Her web with the male in the background
Spanning the strands
A view against the cloudy sky
Argyrodes harvesting an insect
And off she went
The male Nephila
A susprise - this little guy is a Hersiliid, sometimes known as the two tailed spider (note the two hairy tail-like extensions. These are apparently spinnerets) that makes no webs and usually runs around tree bark. How she managed to climb into her web is a puzzle - the dorsal view
The ventral view
C. Frank Starmer