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FOR AGES 3 YEARS TO 18 YEARS
At Kidadl we pride ourselves on offering families original ideas to make the most of time spent together at home or out and about, wherever you are in the world. We strive to recommend the very best things that are suggested by our community and are things we would do ourselves - our aim is to be the trusted friend to parents.
We try our very best, but cannot guarantee perfection. We will always aim to give you accurate information at the date of publication - however, information does change, so it’s important you do your own research, double-check and make the decision that is right for your family.
Kidadl provides inspiration to entertain and educate your children. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate and suitable for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability.
Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.
The golden silk orb-weaver, scientifically known as Trichonephila clavipes, belongs to the genus Trichonephila. Previously this orb-weaving Trichonephila was discovered by Friedrich Dahl as a species under the Niphela genus. However, in 2019 Trichonephila was uplifted as a separate genus. It is also known as the golden silk spider or banana spider. They are possibly are the world's largest orb-weaver species found in the United States. Their bite is less toxic. In addition, their silk is believed to be five times stronger than steel.
Golden silk orb-weaver spiders are sexually dimorphic, and females have distinct coloring and are larger than males. The male golden silk orb-weaver spider exhibits mate-searching behavior. Many species of the Araneidae family have striped legs to serve the purpose of weaving.
Check out our wolf spider interesting facts and yellow sac spider fun facts too!
The golden silk orb-weaver of the genus Trichoniphela is a spider. It is known for its web that shines like a golden silk thread in light.
Formally known as the Nephila clavipes spider, and now known as the Trichonephila clavipes spider, this spider is an arthropod. It belongs to the class Arachnida.
The exact population of this orb-weaver spider species is unknown as it is widespread in its range.
The golden silk orb-weaver prefers woods, dense forests, and shrublands. They are endemic to North and South America. Their range extends from Mexico to Panama, covering Florida and North Carolina, and Gulf states in Central America. In addition, these spiders extend their scope up to Argentina in South America and cover parts of Eastern Canada.
This spider constructs an orb-web amidst trees and shrubs. The habitat plays a vital role in the lifestyle of these orb-weaving spiders. They are found in abundance in summer as they cannot survive winters.
Female golden orb-weavers are undoubtedly solitary as they mostly remain on their web: males travel across the webs for mating and survival.
More generally, golden orb-weavers are recorded to live a lifespan of up to one and half years in the wild, extending to two years in captivity.
Some male spiders can only mate once due to sexual cannibalism behavior and genital mutilation. Thus, forcing these spiders to have a monogynous relation. However, this species from the genus Trichiniphela doesn't have these issues. But still, the capacity to forage female webs and resist competition from other males contributes to settling for a monogynous pair. Also, the male produces a limited amount of sperm, sometimes limited to a single mating which can also become a reason for staying in the same relation for the rest of its life.
Smaller male spiders who cannot compete with large spiders have to invest in mating successfully with the female on her web, allowing them to search for the new web. In comparison, larger males favor establishing relations with females in the new web, guarding her until a new search begins.
The female lays eggs on the silk spectrum and wraps them with a soft silk sac. Each golden silk orb-weaver egg sac contains 300-3000 eggs.
Golden silk orb-weavers (T. clavipes) are listed as a species of Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The golden silk orb-weaver is a species of orb-weaving spiders of the Trichonephila genus.
This species exhibits significant sexual dimorphism in color and size. Female golden silk orb-weavers are giant spiders of the non-tarantula group. The length of these spiders is 0.9-1.5 in (24-40 mm). They also have a distinct coloring that gives this species a unique identity.
The cephalothorax is silvery-white, and the abdomen is orange-brown, and two rows of minute white-yellow spots run across the abdomen, and the color of the abdomen changes as the spider grows. The first, second, and fourth legs of this banana spider have brush-like hair near the joints, and all the legs of this spider are dark yellow with brown banding.
The average male banana spider size is about one-third or one-fourth of the female, which is 0.2 in (6mm), and the weight is negligible. The male has a dark brown body and legs. In addition, the legs of the male spider have black banding, unlike the females' tufts of hair at the joints. This brown-black gives warning cues of predators.
These spiders are not as dangerous as other species that are also described as banana spiders as they are less venomous. These golden orb-weavers are reasonable about their webs and stay in them permanently and maintain them well.
With their dominating size and web weaving capacity, females remain solitary. Still, the significant need to establish a bond is bestowed to males of the species as they are at higher risk of becoming prey.
Once a male bonds with a female, he has to continue the bond with the same female and guard her against benefiting from the web.
The length of a Trichonephila (previously known as Nephila) golden silk orb-weaver ranges from 0.9-1.6 in (24-40 mm), twice as small as the average Nephila genus spider, whose length is 1.5-2 in (4.8-5.1 cm).
These spiders are not good runners but can be race-winning jumpers. They can jump to a distance equal to 40 times their weight.
The average weight of this type of golden orb-weaver is less than 0.14 oz.
Male and female orb-weaving spiders are called male golden silk orb-weavers and female golden silk orb-weavers, and their group is called a clutter or cluster.
A baby silk orb-weaver is called a spiderling. Spiderlings leave the egg sac during the ideal warmer and wetter environments of spring.
The diet of these spiders contains bees, flies, beetles, wasps, butterflies, dragonflies, and tiny moths. The golden silk orb-weaver's web is a hunting weapon for this species that was formerly classified under the Nephila genus. Most of the time, flying insects get caught into this web, allowing these spiders to get hold of their prey.
The golden silk orb-weaver (formerly known as Nephila clavipes but now known as Trichonephila clavipes) is toxic. Their venom can subdue their prey (including insects) but is less effective on humans.
These golden silk orb-weaver or banana spiders can be kept as pets under the right conditions. However, their presence could be harmful to fellow animal pets, and they require a room large enough for them to spin their webs, so all of this must be taken into account.
Their former genus name Nephila refers to an Ancient Greek word that means 'fond of spinning'.
In Latin, 'clavipes' means 'club-footed' as 'clava' means 'clubbed', and 'pes' refers to 'foot'.
These spiders remain permanently in their webs. The webs are very complex and are outlined and barrier webs. The purpose of barrier webs is to alert the spider about the arrival of predators.
The giant golden orb-weaver (previously from the genus Nephila) is an enormous orb-web spider with a length of 1.6 in (42 mm).
These banana spiders of the Trichonephola genus are not completely harmless as on contact they might bite, which will cause a local irritation that will last for less than a day. The toxicity of their venom does not often cause significant side effects in humans.
These banana spiders produce large spider silk webs which are asymmetric.
The golden silk orb-weaver large web is asymmetric with a diameter that varies from 39.3-78.7 in (99.8-199.8 cm). The filament that anchors the web between trees varies from 78.7-118 in (199.8-299.7 cm). The rich golden glow that reflects on lighting account for the bright yellow pigment in the silk. The golden silk orb-weaver spider uses seven glands of silk in it's web construction.
High tensile strengthened major ampullate silk is used in draglines, radii of the web, and bridge lines. Scaffolding is held by minor ampullate silk. The bonding of fibers and other structures in the web is done by cement-like piriform silk. The Aciniform silk, as strong as major ampullate, is used in prey wrapping and insulating egg cases. Tough outer shell cases of eggs are formed from Tubuliform silk. Finally, the stickiness and stretching of the aggregate and flagelliform silk are useful in prey capture. All these seven silks have different spidroin proteins.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these garden spider facts and brown-recluse spider facts pages.
You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable golden silk orb-weaver coloring pages.
Read The Disclaimer
At Kidadl we pride ourselves on offering families original ideas to make the most of time spent together at home or out and about, wherever you are in the world. We strive to recommend the very best things that are suggested by our community and are things we would do ourselves - our aim is to be the trusted friend to parents.
We try our very best, but cannot guarantee perfection. We will always aim to give you accurate information at the date of publication - however, information does change, so it’s important you do your own research, double-check and make the decision that is right for your family.
Kidadl provides inspiration to entertain and educate your children. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate and suitable for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability.
Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.
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