The American Golden Silk Orb-weaver (Trichonephila clavipes), also commonly known as the banana spider in the United States, golden orb-weaver, giant wood spider, golden silk orb-weaver, golden silk orb weaver, or golden silk spider, is the only species of the genus Trichonephila indigenous to continental North and South America.
Golden silk orb-weavers are araneomorph spiders noted for the impressive webs they weave. Nephila spiders vary from reddish to greenish yellow in color with distinctive whiteness on the cephalothorax and the beginning of the abdomen. Like many species of the superfamily Araneoidea, most of them have striped legs specialized for weaving (where their tips point inward, rather than outward as is the case with many wandering spiders). Their contrast of dark brown/black and green/yellow allows warning and repelling of potential predators to which their venom might be of little danger. Golden silk orb-weavers are widespread in warmer regions throughout the world, with species in Australia, Asia, Africa (including Madagascar), and the Americas. Nephila spiders produce large asymmetric orb webs up to 1.5 m (5 ft) in diameter. The hub of the web is in the upper section, while most of the sticky capture strands are found in the lower web. Nephila species remain in their webs permanently, so have a higher predation risk. A barrier web structure on either side of the main web helps mitigate this risk. The golden silk orb-weaver is named for the yellow color of the spider silk used to construct these webs. The venom of the golden silk orb-weaver is effective in action on prey, but has not been reported to be of any notable consequence for humans if accidentally bitten. In the literature, Nephila is one of several genera where the venom "must be considered as more or less ineffectual in human beings". The golden silk orb-weaver targets many different organisms as prey, ranging from small flies and beetles to larger cicadas and locusts. As a result of their strong web structure, small birds and bats can also become trapped and fed upon. Whilst most of the captured prey is relatively small compared to Nephila, the majority of biomass consumed comes from larger, rarer prey. Prey larger than 66% of the captor's size accounts for just 16.5% of prey captured, but 85% of prey consumed, indicating the spider is selective in its feeding habits.