Good one Brian. Those female orb weavers are HUGE. Whenever I am in Asia one of the first things I ask is are they back? Are they around? hehe
Next opportunity try to find the pin-sized males along the fringes. Never managed to get a macro shot of them with the female towering behind. Maybe with your buddy you could ?
No those are the males. After the mating they become useless for that function and the huge one will end their depression.