When not hitching a ride on humans, the Joro spider uses its silk to let itself be carried by the wind, in what is known as “ballooning.” Hatchlings emerge in the spring and shoot off to new locations on wind-carried strands of gossamer parachutes, oftentimes to find potential mates. ![]() “Anecdotally, right before we published this study, we got a report from a grad student at UGA who had accidentally transported one of these to Oklahoma.” How Are They Able to Spread so Quickly? “The potential for these spiders to be spread through people’s movements is very high,” said study co-author Benjamin Frick. ![]() ![]() by way of shipping containers and have since hitched rides on cars and in luggage. It is thought that specimens initially arrived in the U.S. Public Domain How Did the Joro Spider Arrive in the U.S.?įound throughout most of Japan, the Joro spider is used to a climate similar to much of the Eastern Seaboard. The Joro spider was inspired by Jorōgumo, a creature of Japanese folklore. Despite their similarities, the Japanese species hasĭouble the metabolism of the gold spider, a 77% higher heart rate, and can survive a brief freeze - all of which indicates it will better survive in cold environments. Because of its vulnerability to the cold, the golden silk spider has not moved past its southeastern range.īut that’s not the case with the Joro spider. This information was then compared with that of the golden silk spider, a cousin of the Joro spider that is native to the tropics but has been found in the Southeast since the 19th century. Additionally, they conducted tests to determine how well the spiders could tolerate cold, which included data on their metabolic, heart, and survival rates during a freeze. To predict the potential range of the Joro spider, researchers at UGA analyzed records from iNaturalist, a citizen scientist endeavor that tracks sightings of animals across the nation and logs data on various species. Public Domain The Joro Spider is Likely Not Leaving the U.S. Their three-dimensional webs are golden in color, and tend to be higher off the ground than those of other, closely related spiders.Ī large female Joro spider pictured near a smaller brown male. Their male counterparts tend to be a shade of brown. Females have yellow and blue-black stripes on their backs with bright red markings on their undersides. Going by the scientific name Trichonephila clavate, the Joro spider measures about the same size as a banana spider with a body size roughly 2 inches. ![]() “If they’re literally in your way, I can see taking a web down and moving them to the side, but they’re just going to be back next year.”Īs parts of the country can one day expect to live alongside these arachnids, here is what we know about the 3-inch-wide spiders. “People should try to learn to live with them,” said Andy Davis, corresponding author of the study and a research scientist in the Odum School of Ecology at UGA, in a news release. Now, research from University of Georgia (UGA) published in March 2022 suggests that the spiders may spread throughout the Eastern Seaboard. Scientists suggest they’re here to stay.įirst spotted in Georgia in 2013 and g enetically confirmed two years later, the Joro spider has since spread across the state and other parts of the Southeast. The Joro spider - so named after the Jorōgumo - is a strikingly patterned spider that has equally seduced American arachnologists since its first arrival on the continent nearly a decade ago.Īs of this writing, the invasive palm-sized spiders, which are endemic to Japan, have been reported in at least 25 counties across Georgia and South Carolina. In Japanese folklore, the Jorōgumo is a legendary spider that can change its appearance into a beautiful woman, seducing and devouring men she captures in her silky web.
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