By Karen Madoff
On walks on and about Kiawah, occasionally one may face plant into an almost invisible web, an unexpected and not so pleasant way to be introduced to our beautiful native Golden Orb Silk Spider (Trichonephila clavipes). Often nicknamed the banana spider, they are quite visible this time of year.
The females have 1.5-2 inch oblong tan bodies with yellow spots, and distinctive alternating black and yellow striped legs, making her easy to spot as she sits on one of the largest spider webs in North America. This group of spiders are the only ones that spin yellow colored silk, and in terms of strength-to-density ratio, her silk is far stronger than steel.
And while the fashion runways of Milan and Paris might be adequate for your average couture, this lovely garment, a cape made entirely of Golden Orb spider silk, went straight to the American Museum of Natural History for its public unveiling in 2009. It took 4 years and the milking of 1.2 million spiders, and 6,000 hours of embroidery to create. The vivid yellow coloring you see in the garment comes only from the silk, nothing artificial.This cape has traveled to a number of museums since then, and is presently at the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha Qatar. One additional note, the spiders involved in this achievement, were not killed in the process and released back into the wilds of Madagascar, the place chosen for the large density of orb weavers available there.
