Known for the golden color of their silk, the large size of their females, and their distinctive red-brown and yellow coloring, T. clavipes construct large, asymmetrical circular webs attached to trees and low shrubs in woods to catch small- and medium-size flying prey, mostly insects.

Like many orb-weaver species, T. clavipes shows sexual dimorphism, with females possessing both a larger size and more complex and noticeable coloration.

Furthermore, the silk of T. clavipes has the potential to aid in surgeries involving the nervous system, a capability which has been demonstrated in past experimental studies.

Males, meanwhile, are much smaller, about one-third to one-quarter the size of females at roughly 6 mm in length, and also have a more slender build.

Linnaeus, who named the species in 1767, was likely referring to the noticeable tufts of hair on the females' legs, giving them a clubbed or knotted appearance.

After the latest phylogenetic studies, the Nephilinae subfamily now contains the genera Nephila, to which T. clavipes originally belonged, and Trichonephila, its current assignment.

[8] Because humans inadvertently transport spiders as passengers in cargo containers, plant nursery stock, and the like, T. clavipes generally occurs very unevenly over wide areas; often, patches of high local densities are found far from any other populations.

Accidental human transport of the species increases markedly in late August to early September, when the spiders' reproduction is at its height.

Unusually, however, males of T. clavipes rarely face sexual cannibalism or genital mutilation, and are thus able to mate multiply.

Another, less conspicuous factor contributing to monogyny is that like many spider species, T. clavipes males produce a limited amount of sperm over their lifetimes.

[9] In situations where male T. clavipes are limited to monogyny in their environment, mating with virgin females offers the most reproductive payoff.

Conversely, larger males have a higher chance of winning access to a female at a new web and can thus afford to spend time engaging in mate guarding before searching for a new partner.

As with many other orb-webs, it is common to see a trail of organic waste above the center which, as research has shown, attracts prey thanks to its rotten smell.

The major ampullate silk shows high tensile strength and is thus used in structures that require stability, such as draglines, bridgelines, and the radii of webs.

Research at Iowa State University has shown that T. clavipes silk, specifically in the draglines, has exceptionally high thermal conductivity, exceeding that of most metals.

[14] The spider is not aggressive and only bites if handled roughly; the venom is relatively harmless and rarely causes more than slight redness and temporary localized pain.

[4] In addition, T. clavipes had been chosen, because of its highly asymmetric web and elongated body shape, for an experiment in the ISS to test the effect of zero gravity on web-related behaviour.

[16] The silk of T. clavipes has recently been investigated to evaluate its usefulness in surgically improving mammalian neuronal regeneration.