golden silk spider

noun

variants or golden orb weaver or less commonly golden silk orb weaver

: a large spider (Nephila clavipes) native to the southeastern U.S. and Central and South America that constructs large golden webs composed of strong silk and the female of which has a yellow-spotted dull orange or light brown body with legs banded orange and black

Golden silk spiders are named for their golden web, but are also called banana spiders because their body is long, thin and the top side is yellow. Their webs are more than three feet in diameter and found in humid forests along trails.

—Lee Belanger, News-Press (Fort Myers, Florida), 25 Mar. 2006

called also banana spider

Word History

First Known Use

1902, in the meaning defined above

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