The Cedar Lake Botanical Garden was not only a great place for seeing loads of beautiful flowers, but there were also plenty of insects and spiders. This colorful banana spider or golden web weaver (Nephila pilipes) had built a very intricate web between two twigs on an oak tree. The tree branch was overhanging the water, which was glimmering with spots of light. The scene was really pretty and definitely deserving of a photo. Besides being a really lovely spot, these are one of my all time favorite spiders. They start out tiny, and over the course of the spring and summer they grow to be about two to three inches long. The bigger they get, the easier it is to see the spotted design on their abdomens. They also build large webs that have a golden color to them, especially around their centers. The webs can be pretty strong and very sticky, which allows them to catch plenty of insects allowing the spiders to grow the way they do. I’ve had several over the years that built their webs on my covered porches. I’ve always enjoyed watching them grow.