creature: golden silk spider scientific name: Nephila clavipes location: Daytona Beach, FL Submitted by: Erik Maldre, Elmhurst, IL date: unknown Look for story and factoids below image STORY: I was on vacation at Daytona Beach and came across TWO different golden silk spiders when walking down the sidewalk. FACTOIDS: http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/misc/golden_silk_spider.htm In Florida and other southeastern states, the golden silk spider, Nephila clavipes (Linnaeus), a large orange and brown spider with the feathery tufts on its legs is well know to most native southerners. It is particularly despised by hikers and hunters, as during late summer and fall the large golden webs of this species make a sticky rap for the unwary. However, as is typical with most spiders, there is little real danger from an encounter with the golden silk spider. The spider will bite only if held or pinched, and the bite itself will produce only localized pain with a slight redness, which quickly goes away. On the whole, the bite is much less severe than a bee string. Typically, the webs are made in open woods or edges of dense forest, usually attached to trees and low shrubs, although they may be in the tops of trees or between the wires of utility lines (Krakauer 1972). Prey consists of a wide variety of small to medium-sized flying insects, including flies, bees, wasps, and small moths and butterflies (Robinson and Mirick 1971). We have also seen them feeding on small beetles and dragonflies. These spiders are not usually found in row crops, due to requirements of web support, but they were one of the two most common orb-weavers in citrus groves (Muma 1975) and have been recorded from pecan (Whitcomb unpublished). Small, immature instars occasionally make webs between rows in soybean fields (Whitcomb and Edwards, unpublished). http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/nephila/n._clavipes$narrative.html An important way in which golden silk spiders benefit humans is with the use of their dragline thread (the silk). N. clavipes , in particular, weave rather strong webs compared to other species of spiders. Currently, there are tests being done on the potential benefits of human use of the dragline thread. The dragline in golden silk spiders surpasses the strength of "Kevlar," which is a fiber used in bullet-proof vests. The dragline thread is biodegradable, stronger than steel, and economically valuable (Unger 1996).