The spider called a banana spider in the United States — the golden silk orb weaver — is harmless. The name is also used for the Brazilian wandering spider, which is not. If you are in the US and it is sitting in a large golden web, you have the harmless one.
SizeFemale 25–40 mm body with a leg span up to 125 mm; males around 6 mm
MarkingsVery long, slender body with a distinctly elongated abdomen · Legs banded orange and black, with conspicuous dark tufts of hair
WhereWoodland edges, gardens, trails and porches, always in a large permanent orb web strung between trees or across an open span.
SeasonMost conspicuous late summer into autumn, when females reach full size
How to tell it apart
Very long, slender body with a distinctly elongated abdomen
Legs banded orange and black, with conspicuous dark tufts of hair
The web silk is visibly golden in sunlight — unmistakable once seen
Huge orb web, often a metre or more across, high off the ground
The female is dramatic; the male is tiny and easy to miss on the same web
Where you’ll find it
The southeastern United States — Florida up through the Carolinas and west along the Gulf into Texas. The Brazilian wandering spider that shares the nickname does not live in the US, which is why geography settles this question faster than anatomy does.
Woodland edges, gardens, trails and porches, always in a large permanent orb web strung between trees or across an open span.
Most conspicuous late summer into autumn, when females reach full size.
How it behaves
It sits head-down in the middle of its web and stays there. It does not wander, hunt on the ground, or come indoors, and it will drop out of the web and hide rather than confront anything. Walking into the web is the usual way people meet one, and the spider is generally as keen to avoid that as you are.
What a bite looks like
Rare, and mild. A bite produces localised redness and a small welt, much like a bee sting without the swelling, and settles within a day.
A sharp momentary sting rather than lasting pain.
We identify, we don't diagnose. This is not a medically significant spider, but see a doctor for any bite that swells badly or becomes infected.
A skin mark cannot confirm which animal caused it. Read the bug bite and sting guide for the limits and the symptoms that should end an online search.
You’ve found one indoors
Nothing. It is doing useful work and it is not coming inside. If a web is across a path you use, take the web down in the evening and the spider will usually rebuild somewhere else rather than in the same gap.
Common questions
Is a banana spider poisonous?
The one in the US is not. The confusion comes from the name being shared with the Brazilian wandering spider (Phoneutria), which is medically significant and lives in Central and South America — not in the United States.
Why is it called a banana spider?
Several reasons, none of them consistent. The US orb weaver is often yellowish; the South American wandering spiders genuinely do turn up in banana shipments. The same nickname ended up attached to unrelated animals, which is why it is worth identifying by what you can see rather than by the name.
Do banana spiders come in banana boxes?
That story belongs to the wandering spiders of Central and South America, and it does occasionally happen. The US golden silk orb weaver does not travel this way — it lives in a large permanent web outdoors.
How big do they get?
Females reach 25–40 mm in the body with a leg span of up to about 125 mm, which makes them one of the largest orb weavers in the US. Males are a fraction of the size and often share the female's web.
Reinaldo de Oliveira Elias · CC-BY