Morley Read / Slow motion clip of a Spiny orb-weaver (Micrathena sp.) weaving a silk nest to protect its eggs, the nest is suspended from a thread to isolate it from predators, Amazon rainforest, Ecuador. Filmed at...

Paul Bertner / Spiny Spider (Gasteracantha falcicornis), Udzungwa Mountains National Park, Tanzania

Piotr Naskrecki / Spiked Spider (Gasteracantha sp) their abdomen, or opisthosoma, is heavily sclerotized and armed with hard spines possibly to protect against birds and lizards, Solomon Islands

Morley Read / Slow motion clip of a Spiny orb weaver (Micrathena) biting a flying ant caught in its web prior to eating it, Napo Province, Ecuadorian Amazon. (non-ex)

Morley Read / Slow motion clip of a Spiny orb-weaver (Micrathena sp.) weaving a silk nest to protect its eggs, the nest is suspended from a thread to isolate it from predators, Amazon rainforest, Ecuador. Filmed at...

Morley Read / Slow motion clip of a Spiny orb-weaver (Micrathena sp.) weaving a silk nest to protect its eggs, the nest is suspended from a thread to isolate it from predators, Amazon rainforest, Ecuador. Filmed at...

Derek Galon / Spiny Orb Weaver (Gasteracantha sp) Dominica.

Derek Galon / Spiny Orb Weaver (Gasteracantha sp) Dominica.

Emanuele Biggi / Spiny orb-weaver spider (Gasteracantha diardi) on white background. Borneo.

Emanuele Biggi / Spiny orb weaver spider (Gasteracantha sp), Madagascar.

Paul Bertner / Spiked Spider (Gasteracantha sp), Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Paul Bertner / Spiny Spider (Gasteracantha falcicornis), Udzungwa Mountains National Park, Tanzania