One of the less known parts of DuPuis is the Powerline Grade along the eastern perimeter. A one way trip is 13 miles long and can be traveled on foot, bike, horse, or car. As the name implies, the shellrock road parallels high tension power lines running south from the FPL Indiantown plant. The southern half of the road runs between a canal (with many resident alligators) and the adjacent Corbett WMA. You may also see otters, deer, birds and various Florida fauna. Bringing your camera is recommended. Happy caching!
Nephila clavipes is a species of golden silk orbweaver spider native to the southeastern United States. It is commonly nicknamed the banana spider due to its yellow color. Orbweaver spiders spin large webs from trees and bushes to catch unwary insects. Golden silk orbweavers are so named because their web material is yellowish rather than white like most other spiders. They tend to be more active in summer.
As with many spiders, female banana spiders are larger than males. The difference is especially noticeable with banana spiders as the females are among the largest spiders in Florida. Due to their large size, banana spiders tend to have very large webs (sometimes wide enough to span small streams) and the material is much thicker. Small birds are occasionally caught in the larger webs and consumed.
Banana spiders are slightly venomous, but their poison is much weaker than a black widow. Bites are rare and not dangerous to most adult humans.