The Banana Spider: Dangerous or Misunderstood?
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- Опубліковано 20 вер 2023
- I know that spiders aren't everyone's favorite animals, but are they really as bad as they may appear?
The Golden silk spider (Trichonephila clavipes), otherwise known as the Banana spider, is perhaps one of the most maligned spiders in NC thanks to its large size and overall less than friendly appearance.
However, these orb weaving spiders are harmless to humans, and actively feed on potential disease vectors such as mosquitos that can transmit some pretty nasty infections to humans.
As you can see from this footage, even when handled the Goldern silk spider is a docile and inoffensive species that does far more good for us than harm.
Full video featuring this species and a co-starring arachnid is up now on The Wild Report UA-cam, go check it out! #wildlife
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"How many are your works, Lord? In wisdom you made them all, the earth is full of your creatures."
They have a habit of making their webs conveniently head level between trees 😂
Haha yep
Me when I'm bicycling:
lol
hahaha
U ever stop to think maybe your walking into their home without knocking?
Jokes on them, that's where my mouth is...
Heh they've got leg warmers
Gotta stay warm in the Fall weather!
fluffy bois
Leg floofs
@@TheWildReportOfficialI have always heard these called "Banana Spiders" or "Writing Spiders" while growing up in Virginia. Glad to be more aware of where the names and the confusion comes from.
It makes a lot of sense that Spiders which live on *actual banana trees* should get the name "Banana Spider" first lol. This was very informative, thank you!👍
What is a leg warmer?
Something about how they're always resting their bodies on your hand unlike other spiders is cute.
I love that too, it's like they want to cuddle haha
@@TheWildReportOfficialdid u feel his little willy when he laid his body on u? Answer the question buddy and don't lie
They're trying to make sure you know they're there without getting spooked enough to frantically react & kill them.
And they’re using their pedipalps (those legs next to the mouth) to drag themselves along because they’re too heavy
The Golden Orb Weaver was the first spider to fly to space! They are one, if not the top, most accurate hunters in the insect kingdom. It was taken to zero-gravity space to see how, or IF, it could adjust. After a just a bit of being a tad wobbly, it's beautiful web got even more accurate in angles and spacing, to the millimeter. Their strike and kill accuracy also improved beyond what had been documented on Earth. Cool stuff! Gorgeous gorgeous arachnids, hunters and architects. 😍
What, what?! That's sick, I had no idea.
@@TheWildReportOfficial Yup, too cool!
are you sure that wasn't a jumping spider you're talking about, they sent one of them to space and it adapted very quickly.
@@lobodesade6780 yes, I'm sure. They have sent several spiders over the years now and I only know of the orb weavers. I'm sure it's quite possible they've sent up different specimens. You can just Google orb weaver in space. 🙂
@@lobodesade6780 I’ve heard of the golden orb weavers in space, their names were Esmeralda and Gladys 😊 Another super cool thing about the golden orb weaver is the spider silk clothing artists have made using their silk. The more you know, right? Lol!
You know? I'm a bit proud of myself from being a former arachnophobe to an arachnid admirer. That has an amazing color scheme to it. 😁
That's awesome, glad you are learning to appreciate our little friends!
Congratulations on conquering your fears. ☺️
I'm starting to be able to watch videos of spiders but I still can't touch them
What changed your mind?
For me, it was seeing the jumping spider. It is too cute to hate and after, I looked at spiders different.
It was jumping spiders that helped me get over it
One of my favorite spiders to see growing up in south FL 🕷️🕸️
They're so cool!
Just recently went hiking and saw one in MD, guess they’re moving up north now too
Same first saw one in gainesville FL. Very cool spider.
Same here. Lots in Gainesville growing up and playing in the woods. Been bitten once but no big deal. Just gorgeous creatures.
We love orb weaver species in the Treasure Coast, and we're spider ambassadors here. ❤
I love how its using its pedipalps to crawl along your hand 😍
I searched for this comment. Lol
Had the same exact thought. It's kind of adorable.
She looks like she was wiping her face lol (the male was the tiny one a fraction of her size in the first or second clip)
The Golden Silk is such a fascinating creature
Indeed they are!
Their fluffy legwarmers make that they are supercute instead of creepy! Gorgeous little beastie 😍
I always was terribly afraid of spiders... Now I am a proud tarantula mom ❤😂
YES, they are ready for the holidays haha
@@TheWildReportOfficial they absolutely are! 😂
Those spiders are everywhere in Williston,Florida and we did call them Banana spiders.
I remember them making a city of silk high in the trees
I walked right through one's web one time while on night exercise near fort Bragg NC. Not so fun :(
@@patdohrety2940 yeah,their webs are big and strong asf and they'll make one in front of your doorstep overnight if you don't keep them in check.
Is the little one on the web a male
Lol no kidding, lots of em over here in Dunnellon, too
I like how it looks up at you like "hey dude you're gunna have to stop moving around so i can start my job"
Wasn’t this the “paralyzing” spider they used in “lost” when the two robbers were skeeming and ended up getting bit and the rest of the island thought they were dead and they got buried alive lol
I've never seen Lost but probably haha
The proper spelling is "scheming"
Not trying to be a dick, knowledge is power.
@@littlewolf9049i agree that knowledge is power, but I actually like 'skeeming' for some reason
@@hollies5841 Probably because it's informal, like wearing your hat backwards. It feels more fun that way.
@@TheWildReportOfficialLost was wild😂
I like to call those the “nope x3”
I was in South Carolina at a friend's family reunion (I'm from Ohio) several years ago. As we were walking back to the car to leave, my attention was temporarily distracted talking to someone behind me and when i turned back around, my face was literally about a foot away from one of these sitting in the middle of a giant perfect spider web spun between two trees maybe 5 or 6 feet off the ground. It looked like something out of a horror movie to me because I thought these things only existed in the tropics. The craziest thing was how big each strand of the spider web was. The spider web looked like a fake movie prop because the strands were so big and they had a golden hue. I was fascinated and I went to research it and yes, I found out it was called a "Golden Orb Weaver". I'm only now finding out that they're not dangerous to humans, but they are definitely the scariest looking spider you will encounter in the US. The spider was bigger than the one in this video BTW. Thanks for sharing.
Yeah they legitimately do look fake, especially the big ones with especially golden silk. It's no wonder people are freaked out by them.
I have these spiders in my back yard here in Columbia south carolina they eat the bugs that bother my plants
I went to college in Orangeburg. Spent lots of time in Columbia obviously. Great memories. Spider free though. LOL.
@@raymiller4808
That was an entertaining story. Pretty decent writing. Good descriptions and comparative details.
I saw one in the wild as a kid and I was literally paralyzed
You r like my sister, she is always terrified by the sight of spiders, i have always been the wild one and i love spiders
Spiders are perfectly fine outside, not inside my housr
@@scholaroftheworldalternatehist Well said
@@retronister8816 I love spiders too. At least I got the kids not to be terrified of them, but they don't really like handling them like I do.
Great summary on this spider!
Thank you!
I remember sharing a class with you at NCSU glad to see youve gone far
No way, what class?
@@TheWildReportOfficial environmental science I think we were almost in a group for the tree measuring project
@@grimripper4179 That's crazy, it feels like that was so long ago haha
it looks like SpongeBob from the top
Those are the biggest spider where I live next to wolf spiders and you got some balls holding that monstrosity
They're not dangerous so maybe grow some balls
They get big
Indeed they do!
@TheWildReportOfficial with the right environment they do
The way it walks across your hand with its little pedipalps 😭😭😭
I love them. I've only encountered docile ones and they're actually how i got over my arachnophobia. I ran into a nest on Costa Rica about fifteen years ago and had one the size of a dinner plate on my face. Her legs wrapped around my ears and she didn't seem phased that I'd just ruined her nest in the middle of the night on the way to the bathroom. They're really pretty, too.
😳😱😨🥶!!!! When I just read that about the way the spider was wrapped around your face, my blood ran cold and I literally got the chills up my arms and on my neck!!! I have a REALLY BIG FEAR of spiders….ALL KINDS, because of a horrible experience I had when I was young but I’ve definitely have respect for all living things, even insects so o won’t ever kill them if I find them and let me tell you, me and my eldest son have always had the curse of finding them on our bodies almost daily….SUCH AN ODD AND CREEPY thing to have to live with lol! Anyways I always catch and release back out in the wild, unless it’s really cold outside, then I’ll find a nice lil place somewhere in the basement or WAY outta my vicinity and let him go. I figure if it’s cold out and they are indoors, that means they were just trying to get in from the cold like any creature trying to survive and just get by in a harsh world. Lol! 😆🥰🥰🥰
GOD Bless 🙏🏻 and Thanks for sharing! 💖✌🏼🤙🏼
My gf and friends are spooked out by these as they get pretty big with really long legs and the bright yellow colors they have. I guess its a normal reaction we human have embedded in our DNA over generations of trials and errors of our ancestors. So I understand how they feel cause i sometimes paralyze for a second when i see a snake in the grass or branches & it gives me the heebee-jeebees lol. I leave all spiders alone cause they do us so much good. But eventually I’ll have to clean up the cobwebs that the Silk Spiders make because it’s so huge and there’s so many of them in my back yard 😂
I live in Georgia & us southerners get alot of “wildlife”; insects, arachnids, marsupials (opossums) reptiles, mammals & birds large and small. I have a flowing creek in my backyard with pretty dense woods so I’ve learned to enjoy the circle of life no matter how small it is. There’s a few families of deer that roam around, we hear the owls at night and falcons in the day. I caught a glimpse of a couple blue heron cranes. We’re starting to see more & more wildlife come closer to my home because their habitat is being destroyed and the safest place for them is here. But We’ll get the occasional pack of coyotes too , which is crazy to me because i have never seen or even heard about them around until as of recently. Most likely because all the smaller animals are around now including the deers & I suppose it’s also because more people are moving here and there’s alot of development happening around us & theres nothing anyone can do about it. Its a curse & a blessing.
& i don’t live in the country or rural side lol, i live in an underdeveloped suburbs but if you go a couple miles out, its a sprawling city. Thats Georgia for ya lol
Yeah there seems to be an instinctual fear of certain animals for sure, but with experience and education that fear can turn to fascination! Sounds like you've got some neat wildlife around you, I'm a little jealous.
When I was a child, I lived in South Carolina for a while, and I was taking a hike in the woods and ran through one of these webs. The damn thing crawled up my shorts leg, and bit me on the ass cheek it was horrible
I've always heard of them as orb weavers
Get near their eggs...you will experience fear
These make some of the strongest, largest webs I've ever seen. We used to run through them as kids in Florida. I've never been bitten by one, but they're scary enough and heavy enough when they get on you to trigger that freak out mechanism, lol.
They are absolutely spectacular!
Yes they are!
Imagine being so cool with just handling these terrifying beasts
First time I ever saw one of these was in person was in college. There was a forest next to our school with trails I would often walk down. One day I went for a walk and about ten minutes in a see something several hundred feet ahead, that looks like it's in the trees. I keep walking but it's obviously in the wrong position to be in the trees. I keep walking and whatever it is appears to be hovering in mid air, so I think maybe it's a hummingbird. Finally I get about 20ft from it and see it's a spider the size of my freaking hand that has built a web across the trail, and was just sitting in the middle of it, right at my head height.
I didn't go back out there for a couple of weeks.
I live in NC and I gotta say,it’s nice learning more about my state
We've got some amazing animals here!
Horrifying, but harmless. Sounds like your average arachnid. It'd take me a while before I could let that big boi crawl on me.
Fun fact this spider is called the electrical spider mostly by kids from philipines. 'Gagambang kuryente'
Because their mostly on electrical wires from electric posts
That's really neat!
Spider is thinking "why is this creature talking so much?"
Very cool looking spider, no doubt.
I hate spiders. But they way it walks with it's pedipalps is kinda adorable.
😊🙏 Thank You for more info like this ... Many learn to live in harmony with these scary looking but non-venomous Golden Orb Weaver spiders in their forest parks! 🌷🌿🌏✌💜🕊
I’ve seen these on Jekyll Island, their webs are so pretty
Such a beautiful spider,I love how she uses her pedipalps to help her walk. It’s just cute af.
i love that it looks like they use their pedipalps to walk too
That spider looks like a little nanobot.
Plot twist it actually is.
We see a lot of these in the North Florida woods. They string their long webs across forest roads, which really "bugs" us motorcycle riders. Running into a web sucks. 😮
Yeah man I love these spiders! I have an over abundance of egg cases this year so would share with anyone who might want some!
They are so cool! I've never had someone solicit spider egg casings in my comments section before, haha
lol well this started last year when one put her eggs on a cardboard box under a tarp I have set up as a tent and I just left it there thinking it would be cool to see them emerge this spring. Well I ended up with around 20 that decided to stay. I now have around 15 egg cases under same tarp and need to figure out what to do with them all 😂
@@jamesblake7338 I'll take some off your hands! Are just asking one to cover the shipping charge or selling them?
@@sarahsharp8595 good morning Sara u surprised me lol so let me research a few things. Do u have this spider in your state? In order to know what shipping would cost I need to know your state and zip code maybe. I’m in North Carolina and this is a very common spider here, but would be worried about introducing to state it’s not in . I’ve never tried selling spider egg cases before lol so have no idea what would be fair. How many would u want?
This is one of the few spiders that do not trigger my arachnophobia, but for a reason. I used to mow an orange grove in an open cab tractor with a batwing mower... When its that time of year, there will be a haze looking from one end of a grove middle down it, and it is an unknowable number of banana spiders and their webs. Not like i can clear the middles ahead of time... So you just brace for when youre driving through those webs constantly the whole way down... They just cover the tractor and you, crawling all over you. At first it was a night mare, but i quickly realized that they literally just run away at first opportunity. Became just a minor nuisance, the muffler at least cut through and caught most of the webs. Besides jumpin spiders and tarantulas, theyre the only spider i can pick up out of their webs and not be freaked out, though that with it gripped firmly but gently between thumb and fingers upon their abdomen. The biggest ones only though, they dontry to reach around with their fangs, but theyre so big they can't reach!
There is a closely related orb weaver that looks similar, main apparent difference being the zigzag pattern of thicker silk that runs up and down the center of their web. These are much quicker (too quick to ever considering picking up on my part, heebie jeebies!), and waaaay more likely to just jump from their webs and run away. Like, throw a leaf in their web and theyre as likely t just jump off as they are to investigate it as potential prey
she is so pretty! Her boyfriend deserves a shout out too, I love how spiders don't discriminate against the short kings
Haha yeah unless they eat them
spider really be like. "u like my banana biznatch"
Ingot bit by a banana spider and my legs swelled up and became bananas. Monkeys were chasing after me for days. Luckily I got bit by a Daddy Long Legs shortly after and my legs turned back to normal, they just grew a little longer.
So tragic
I thought the Daddy Long Legs isn’t dangerous.
Their little faces are so cute!!! When they were walking and their pedipalps were walking too it was so good
Yes they are so good
That is a stunningly gorgeous spider, what is it doing walking with its pedipalps? Its so sweet!
Isn't it adorable?!
Nothing beats nearly having one in your face when you are running through the forest as a kid in Florida.
She's a Female. If you look carefully at the end of the short, you'll see a Female Golden Silk Orb Weaver (large) and a Male one (small).
I have arachnophobia to the max, but all orbweavers have my respect. They are the artists of the spider kingdom!
i only, just recently, took an interest in arachnids, mostly in spiders. From a weird phase of not necessarily being afraid of them, nor being confident with them to being really intrigued and filled with wonder about them. This short had earned a sub and this golden silk is a beautiful little creature.
I'm so glad to hear that you're learning to appreciate arachnids, thanks for the sub!
Golden orb weavers. Everywhere here in Florida, their silk really does look like gold in the morning dew.
Spiders are one of my favorite animals. Ants are my number one.
If ants were bigger I think I would like them more, it's just hard for me to connect to them.
To each their own. They are just such a well organized little creature and that's pretty damn impressive to me. @@TheWildReportOfficial
I literally thought it was a toy spider from the thumbnail 🤣🤣🤣
Cool looking spider!!
i honestly thought the yellow hue of the web was pollen sticking to it. kinda cool to know they just make it that way. they also apparently dislike other golden silk spiders making a web near them. i have about 5 in my yard right now, they all made webs close to one another and by the end of the week they moved and are now in random places in the yard. im deathly afraid of spiders but these ones are fascinating. The females are also HUGE compared to males. I have 1 male and 4 females in the yard lol.
Yeah the webbing is gorgeous, I hadn't heard about territoriality until now so thanks for letting me know!
A lot of information in such a short vid well done
These little dudes make the coolest webs
Even though I know these spiders are basically harmless, I still could never hold one! They give me the creeps and I’ve held tarantulas several times and even had one crawl on my face before, but you’ll probably never see me touch one of these.
That way she walks with her pedipalps is pretty cute.
I love when they make the big white stripe on their web. They are basically saying, "Hey, I live here. Please don't walk face first into my home." Avoids a lot of bad times for both parties.
Always loved them. The death-mask carapace is so cool. Worth mentioning that their webs can be huge.
That's a pretty spider.
I grew up with these living on our clothes line pole. My grandmother also had them. That’s over 50 years of these spiders just chilling on our pole. 😁
I see them often in NC. We leave them alone, they are neat little dudes
They’re highly dangerous. My mom got bit and was hospitalized for two weeks, she said it was more painful than anything she’s ever gone through and she’s given birth 5 times
I always knew them as writing spiders.
Neat! We always called the yellow garden spiders writing spiders.
I really enjoy your site.
Always thought that spider was poisonous.
Surprise, they're tricking you!
I’ve loved em even as a child when I thought they were highly venomous.
the male spider: "she's distracted. Now's my chance!"
I learned a reason their webs are so bright is so human eyes can see them easier. They're also a win-win type spider. I'd not object to having one around my doors and windows.
Yeah they are so helpful!
I used to see these a lot in central Florida. And the spikey crab spiders. I don't see either anymore
They'll come back out late this summer!
I call it a golden orb weaver
Yep, that's the official common name of this species!
@@TheWildReportOfficial nice! They're really cool spiders
wow this is so cool keep up the good work 😄😄
Thanks a bunch, will do!
i love these spiders, as long as they dont spin their webs in my lawn. Their webs are too intimidating for me
Have you held a tarantula? I really wanna see, they're so cute and some species are so calm
Btw subbed, i love spiders and snakes✨
Do one on the fishing spider! They lived in my basement in NC… absolute monsters. Just lurking on the walls, randomly changing spots.
I do have one actually, not a short but a long video!
The other "banana" spider is the tarantula, i remember hearing stories of them being a danger to the harvesters and they have even made it all the way to American grocery stores. 😮
the actual banana spider is a wandering spider, not a tarantula
So cool. Saw a different type of banana spider in Florida and would check them out every chance I could. They looked like Jimmy Hendrix designed them.
That spider looks like a transformer to me with that large backend looks like the windows of a transport
lmao the two small legs(probably is called something else) next to it's fangs are so cute when it walks!
Yeah they are cute, those are the pedipalps!
What a beautiful spider!
When I Was in Ga, They called em Banana Weavers.
Interesting combination of common names!
Wow she is such a beautiful Spider
I noped out of several nature walks after seeing those in Gainesville, Florida.
That spider chillin
Keep on keeping on! Amazing job!.
Thank you! Will do!
The thumbnail looked like a pug with a spider costume
Whenever someone talks to me about “banana spiders” I always have to ask them to be more specific.
Phoneutria ≠ Trichonephila
That's why binomial nomenclature is so helpful!
Thank you!
I always just called them Garden Spiders tbh
You can't fool me, that's the magic schoobus
gogs we remember going to parts of mangrove boardwalks in florida, looking up and seeing hundreds and hundreds of these critters in a so many webs it looked like a massive web canopy and caused shade, was amazingly beautiful
This one shows up in a gigantic form in the addictive "Earth Defense Force" video game series, hanging in its web and throwing web strands a really long way at you, almost like fishing lines. If one of the strands happens to catch you, it will slowly pull you in until it can start munching on you. EDF!
EDF!! EDF!!
What the heck that's so cool!
Really good, confident, well paced delivery. Impressive. 👍
Thanks so much!
These guys get everywhere in the summer, and quick too! I went to leave my house only to find a massive web cover one half of my small porch. Needless to say I went out the other door.
I went through a bunch of webs hanging tree to tree running with my friends. I was covered in webs and spiders. Admittedly, I was rolling around, screaming. Yes i have issues with spiders since. At the time i didn’t know they were not poisonous.