Also, they have the coolest looking heads: the shape and color reminds me strongly of a skull. (Anyone play Legend of Zelda? Remember the Skulltula??)
Ash
31-Aug-2011 00:49
When I lived in a rural part of Florida near Tampa, I frequently saw this specimen; we (erroneously) called them "banana spiders." They create such exquisite webs, very geometric and architectural. I would often see one large matron, her abdomen about thumb size, in the web accompanied by a few much smaller (I called them little princesses--I think they were in-training, lol) and tiny others that were difficult to see, made apparent when the sun reflected off of them like a mirror. With the right lighting, it looked like diamonds decorating her web; eerily beautiful. And my goodness she was fast! So large, yet so fast. I was often torn between amazed respect for the beauty and complexity of her web and form, and nervousness for having to pass so close under her web to enter my house. They never seemed to mind me, though...
Dave
01-Jul-2010 18:27
This is the spider I saw in a HUGE web on the side of a trailer I once lived in, in Florida. This was quite a large spider with it's abdomen being at least the size of my entire thumb, but this one also had flourescent green-blue markings around it's head. Have you ever seen one like that before?
