Banana Spider
Argiope aurantia
Description:
Banana spiders earned their name from the elongated, bright yellow and black bodies, resembling a
banana in shape and coloring. They will often spin a web across a walkway or trail, spanning several feet.
These spiders, although often quite large, are not considered dangerous or aggressive. The Banana Spider
is also often called a yellow garden spider, golden orb weaver or a writing spider
Size:
The males are about half the size of females, and dark colored. Females can attain a body length of about
1.1". Spiders molt in order to grow, shedding their protective exoskeleton and hanging limply attached by
silk until the new skin hardens.
Habitat:
North American banana spiders prefer sunny areas and tend to like tall plants or trees. They often hang
upside down in the center of their web with legs spread in an “X” pattern.
Food:
Banana Spiders, as most spiders, do not chew their food. They catch small invertebrates such as flies,
beetles, locusts and moths in their webs, inject the prey with venom and feed on the fluid inside the insect.
Spiders are very useful in controlling the pest population around homes.
Offspring:
The egg sacs are roughly round in shape and up to 25 mm in diameter; each contains 300 to 1400 eggs.
The female attaches her egg sac to one side of her web Eggs hatch in autumn, but spiderlings stay in the
sac during winter and emerge in the spring.
Fun Facts:
• The web of the North American banana spider is orb-shaped, golden, and is stronger than most
spiders' webs. In fact its silk is stronger than comparable threads of Kevlar or steel!
• The South American Banana spider, Phoneutria spp., can be deadly. Between 1970-1980, it
resulted in the hospitalization of 7,000 people in southern Brazil. In contrast, the bite of North
American Banana spiders may produce no more than an itchy welt for a day or so.
• The purpose of zigzag patterns often seen in the center of the web is not fully understood. They
are called stabilimenta, referring to the idea that they help stabilize the web, but may function to
disguise the spider, lure insects (by virtue of the ultraviolet reflectiveness of the silk) or prevent
birds from flying into the web.