Golden silk orb weaver
Trichonephila clavipes · also called Banana spider, Golden silk spider, Golden silk orbweaver and Nephila clavipes (older scientific name) · Last checked November 3, 2026.
The golden silk orb weaver (Trichonephila clavipes), also called the banana spider or golden silk spider, is a large orb-weaving spider. Females have a silvery white front body section, a yellow to orange abdomen with rows of silvery white spots, and brown and orange banded legs with black hair tufts. They spin big golden webs, often 1 to 2 meters (3 to 6.5 feet) across, in open woods and forest edges. UF/IFAS says it occurs throughout Florida and the Gulf States, north to North Carolina, and Extension services in Alabama, Mississippi and South Carolina report it. Clemson Extension says it is not harmful to humans: it bites only if held or pinched, and UF/IFAS says the bite is much less severe than a bee sting. UF/IFAS Extension
On this page
Is the golden silk orb weaver dangerous?
Clemson Extension: not harmful to humans and docile; would run rather than bite. A bite is similar to a bee sting and is not known to require medical attention the way widow or recluse bites can. Clemson Cooperative Extension, Home & Garden Information Center
“The four spider species listed above are not harmful to humans.”
Bites and stings: Bites only if held or pinched (UF/IFAS) or roughly handled (MSU). The bite causes localized pain and slight redness that fades quickly; UF/IFAS says it is much less severe than a bee sting.
If someone is bitten or stung, call 911 or Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222.
How to identify a golden silk orb weaver
A photo or description can narrow it down, but cannot confirm what an animal is or that it is safe. Look from a distance and do not handle wild animals.
Size: Female body 24 to 40 mm (about 1 to 1.6 in) (UF/IFAS); Clemson gives an average female body length of 1½ to 2 inches. Males are much smaller: about 6 mm on average (UF/IFAS). UF/IFAS Extension
Colors: yellow, orange, tan, silver and brown. Pattern: silvery white spots on abdomen; banded legs; hair tufts on legs.
Key features
- Hairy "bottlebrush" tufts on some leg segments, which tell it apart from other big yellow orb weavers, including the Joro spider. Clemson Cooperative Extension, Home & Garden Information Center
- White cephalothorax (head and leg section). Clemson Cooperative Extension, Home & Garden Information Center
- Abdomen yellow-orange with two rows of silvery white spots; legs yellow-orange with brown bands and black tufts near the joints of the 1st, 2nd and 4th pairs. University of Georgia Cooperative Extension
- Large, finely meshed golden web, often 1 to 2 meters (about 3 to 6.5 feet) across, with the hub near the top. UF/IFAS Extension
Young
Mature females make at least two egg sacs 2.5 to 3 cm across, each with several hundred eggs in curly yellow silk, late in the fall.
Animals mistaken for the golden silk orb weaver
Golden silk orb weaver or Joro spider?
Golden silk orb weaver
Joro spider Trichonephila clavata
Golden silk orb weaver females have dense tufts of black hair on the legs (three of the four pairs) and rows of silvery white spots on the abdomen. Joro females have broad, horizontal bluish-green bands on top of the abdomen and large red markings underneath; MSU Extension: if you see red markings on the belly, it is a Joro spider. Mississippi State University Extension Service
MSU Extension says neither species is to be feared for its bite.
Golden silk orb weaver or Yellow garden spider?
Golden silk orb weaver
Yellow garden spider Argiope aurantia
Garden orb weavers (Argiope) have a different abdominal color pattern and no tufts of hair on the legs. UF/IFAS Extension
Clemson Extension counts the yellow garden spider among the big yellow spiders it says are not harmful to humans.
Golden silk orb weaver or Pantropical huntsman spider (also called banana spider)?
Golden silk orb weaver
Pantropical huntsman spider (also called banana spider) Heteropoda venatoria
Not an orb weaver: a large, flat, brown spider that hunts without a web, with black spots on its legs. UF/IFAS Extension
UF/IFAS: not a dangerous spider, but it can give a locally painful bite if handled or trapped.
Where the golden silk orb weaver lives
- Native or listed
- Nonnative or not established
- No official record in our data
- 1–9
- 10–99
- 100–999
- 1,000+
On our state guides
State boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file cb_2024_us_state_20m.
When it is active
Large webs are most noticed in late summer and fall. Adult males are present July to September; most females mature in August. UF/IFAS Extension
US open-licence records peak in June to September.
Habitat and habits
Habitat: Webs in open woods or at edges of dense forest, usually attached to trees and low shrubs, sometimes in treetops or between utility wires. UF/IFAS Extension
Behavior: Rarely bites unless roughly handled. Its webs are semipermanent and repaired rather than rebuilt. Spiderlings spread by ballooning; spiders and egg sacs can also travel on equipment, vehicles or plants.
Diet: Small to medium flying insects, including flies, bees, wasps, small moths and butterflies.
Young: One generation per year in temperate North America; egg sacs are made in late fall.
Questions about the golden silk orb weaver
Joro spider vs banana spider
Golden silk orb weaver (banana spider) females have dense black hair tufts on the legs and rows of silvery white spots on the abdomen. Joro females have broad bluish-green bands across the top of the abdomen and large red markings underneath. MSU Extension says neither is to be feared for its bite. The Joro is native to East Asia; the golden silk orb weaver has been in the US for more than 100 years.
Banana spider bite
Golden silk orb weavers (banana spiders) bite only if held or pinched. UF/IFAS says the bite causes localized pain and slight redness that quickly go away, and is much less severe than a bee sting. Clemson Extension says a bite is similar to a bee sting and is not known to need medical attention the way widow or recluse bites can. If you are worried about any bite, call 911 or Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222.
Banana spider venomous
It has venom, like most spiders, but Mississippi State University Extension says bites are not seriously venomous, and Clemson Extension says it is not harmful to humans.
Banana spider size
Females are large: 24 to 40 mm (about 1 to 1.6 inches) long in the body according to UF/IFAS; Clemson gives an average of 1½ to 2 inches. Males are tiny, about 6 mm on average.
Banana spider web
The web is large and finely meshed, often 1 to 2 meters (3 to 6.5 feet) across, with golden silk. It is usually strung in open woods or at forest edges between trees and shrubs. The spider repairs it rather than rebuilding it each day.
Banana spider florida
Yes. UF/IFAS says the golden silk orb weaver, which Floridians commonly call the banana spider, occurs throughout Florida.
Banana spider south carolina
Yes. Clemson Extension says the golden silk spider, also called the banana spider, is the most common golden orb weaver in South Carolina and was first documented in Charleston in 1863.
Are there banana spiders in alabama?
Yes. Alabama Cooperative Extension says the golden silk orbweaver is well established in Alabama.
Banana spider texas
Penn State Extension describes the golden silk orb weaver range as the Southeast from Virginia to Florida, mainly on the Coastal Plain, and west into Texas. No Texas agency or Extension page confirming it was checked here, so Texas is not in the official state list.
Sources
- EENY229 Golden Silk Spider, Trichonephila clavipes (Linnaeus) (Weems & Edwards). UF/IFAS Extension (EDIS). undated page; checked November 3, 2026.
Quoted passages (7)
“Females range from 24 mm to 40 mm in length.”
“The finely meshed, large web of Trichonephila clavipes (often 1 to 2 meters in diameter) is placed to best exploit insect flight paths … The hub of the web where the spider waits is located near the top of the web, making an asymmetrical orb.”
“Mature females are found late into the fall, when they make at least two large egg sacs 2.5 to 3 cm in diameter consisting of several hundred eggs surrounded by a basket of curly yellow silk.”
“Typically, the webs are made in open woods or edges of dense forest, usually attached to trees and low shrubs, although they may be in the tops of trees or between the wires of utility lines”
“Prey consists of a wide variety of small to medium-sized flying insects, including flies, bees, wasps, and small moths and butterflies”
“It is particularly despised by hikers and hunters, as during late summer and fall the large golden webs of this species make a sticky trap for the unwary.”
“Trichonephila clavipes in temperate North America has one generation per year under field conditions.”
- HGIC 2503 Big Yellow Spiders in South Carolina. Clemson Cooperative Extension, Home & Garden Information Center. Originally published 08/21; checked November 3, 2026.
Quoted passages (3)
“The four spider species listed above are not harmful to humans.”
“Golden silk orbweavers have a hairy ‘bottlebrush’ appearance on some of their leg segments, which allows you to distinguish them from other big, yellow orbweavers, including the Joro spider.”
“Golden silk orbweavers have a trademark white cephalothorax (the body part with the head and where the legs attach), which is used by the spider for heat regulation during hot days.”
- Circular 1273 Joro Spider (Trichonephila clavata). University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. Circular 1273, October 2022; checked November 3, 2026.
Quoted passages (1)
“Abdomen is yellow-orange with two rows of silvery white spots Legs are yellow-orange with brown bands; 1st, 2nd, and 4th pairs of legs have black tufts of hair near joints”
- Golden Silk Spider or Joro Spider?, Bug's Eye View Vol. 8, No. 18. Mississippi State University Extension Service. 2022 (Bug's Eye View Vol. 8, No. 18; checked November 3, 2026.
Quoted passages (2)
“Both can bite, but rarely do so unless roughly handled, and bites are not seriously venomous.”
“Female golden silk spiders have dense tufts of black hairs on their legs.”
- Joro Spiders: What You Need to Know. Alabama Cooperative Extension System. published 2022-03-11; checked November 3, 2026.
- ENY2080 An Introduction to Some Common and Charismatic Florida Spiders (Powell & Taylor). UF/IFAS Extension (EDIS). Original publication date February 2023; checked November 3, 2026.
Quoted passages (1)
“The abdominal color patterns of Argiope spp.”
- EENY-160 Pantropical Huntsman Spider, Heteropoda venatoria (Linnaeus) (Arachnida: Araneae: Sparassidae). UF/IFAS Extension (EDIS), author G. B. Edwards (FDACS Division of Plant Industry). undated page; checked November 3, 2026.
Quoted passages (1)
“Heteropoda venatoria is a large brown spider with a flattened body structure and very little dorsal pattern.”
- Jorō Spiders. Penn State Extension. September 8, 2025; checked November 3, 2026.
- GBIF.org occurrence records, human observations licensed CC0 1.0 or CC BY 4.0 only, accessed November 3, 2026. The datasets behind these counts are listed on our Sources page.
- State boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file cb_2024_us_state_20m.