Nephila spiders vary from reddish to greenish yellow in color with distinctive whiteness on the cephalothorax and the beginning of the abdomen.

Like many species of the superfamily Araneoidea, most of them have striped legs specialized for weaving (where their tips point inward, rather than outward as is the case with many wandering spiders).

A number of possible explanations were suggested, such as increased food supplies due to artificial light or lack of predators and parasites.

[5] In 2018, twelve Nephila species were reclassified as Trichonephila,[6] with another two (N. kuhlii and N. robusta) considered in 2020 to be junior synonyms of N.

[10] Golden silk orb-weavers are widespread in warmer regions throughout the world, with species in Australia, Asia, Africa (including Madagascar), and the Americas.

[12] Locally, spiders look for relatively dense vegetation where webs can be set up in areas that insects will regularly fly through.

The spider is able to adjust pigment intensity relative to background light levels and color; the range of spectral reflectance is specifically adapted to insect vision.

The spider removes and consumes the portion to be replaced, builds new radial elements, then spins the new spirals.

In relation to the ground, the webs of adults may be woven from eye-level upwards high into the tree canopy.

Adjacent to one face of the main orb, a rather extensive and haphazard-looking network of guard-strands may be suspended a few centimeters distant across a free space.

The golden silk orb-weaver targets many different organisms as prey, ranging from small flies and beetles to larger cicadas and locusts.

[13] Nephila species also create caches of food for storage, which can be found above the hub of the web and contain up to 15 prey items.

[17] Nephila species may also respond to food shortages by moving their webs, but this is a response to longer periods of prey scarcity than cache creation.

Nephila spiders display large sexual dimorphism in size, with females being greatly larger than males.

Females engage in multiple mating, but no benefit to the offspring occurs as a result of this; however, the energy cost of repelling a male is higher than that of allowing him to copulate.

Nephila spiders change their body positioning relative to the sun to maintain internal temperatures at an optimal level.

[24] Predation of Nephila species is relatively uncommon; when it does occur, the main group affected are the juvenile individuals.

Egg sacs generally remain free from both predation and parasitism, often due to the close proximity of the mother and how well it is hidden.

Nephila spiderlings leave the egg sac as a result of environmental cues, often warmer and wetter conditions in spring.

The venom of the golden silk orb-weaver is effective in action on prey, but has not been reported to be of any notable consequence for humans if accidentally bitten.

[26] That said, the potentially large size of several members of the genus means that they possess relatively strong chelicerae, so any bite can cause some mechanical damage, but only of short-term localised effect for humans.

[30] In 2004 a textile designer, Simon Peers, and an entrepreneur, Nicholas Godley managed in three years' work and using 1.2 million Golden silk orb-weavers (collected in the wild and released some 30 minutes later after they produced the silk) to produce a shawl that was exhibited at the American Museum of Natural History in 2009.

[31][32] By 2012 they managed to produce a second, bigger garment, the Golden Spider Silk Cape, that, together with the shawl, were exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

[33] Two shawls and a traditional Madagascan lamba made of this spider silk were included in an exhibition of curios from the natural world in 2021.

A study from the Medizinische Hochschule Hannover reports that processed Nephila silk is an excellent scaffold material thanks to its biocompatibility, mechanical strengths, and its property to promote cell adhesion and proliferation.

[36] Fishermen on the coasts of the Indo-Pacific Ocean remove Nephila webs and form them into a ball, which is thrown into the water.