Joro spiders are large and colourful but not dangerous to humans
June 19, 2024 11:06 AM Subscribe
Joro spiders (which have been expanding their range into Georgia and New York) are large and colourful but not dangerous to humans. Joro spiders have venom like all spiders, but they aren't deadly or even medically relevant to humans. At worst, a Joro bite might itch or cause an allergic reaction. "They're not dangerous. They're not aggressive. Even if you...go after the spider and harass it to such an extent that it would bite you, it wouldn't be an issue," said Professor Kronauer.
Joro spiders actually have a reputation for being shy.
A University of Georgia research scientist, Andy Davis, told the New York Times last year he had experimented by blowing air on different spiders with a turkey baster.
“They don’t like that, and they freeze,” he told the outlet.
“You can time how long they stay in that position.”
Other species remained frozen for two minutes. The joro spiders he tested didn't move for an hour.
Joro spiders actually have a reputation for being shy.
A University of Georgia research scientist, Andy Davis, told the New York Times last year he had experimented by blowing air on different spiders with a turkey baster.
“They don’t like that, and they freeze,” he told the outlet.
“You can time how long they stay in that position.”
Other species remained frozen for two minutes. The joro spiders he tested didn't move for an hour.
Oh no.
posted by The Manwich Horror at 11:29 AM on June 19 [2 favorites]
posted by The Manwich Horror at 11:29 AM on June 19 [2 favorites]
yeah. I can't go to an article about this due to my inability to deal with mere photos of giant technicolor spoods. so I was worried about my trip to NJ last week, but was informed there that the spoods are not that far north yet. until then I will continue to brave the northeast (except this week, woo boy!!) but scared I is.
(I never harm any spoods outdoors [unless one is on my body - sorry] only if in the house, which often times mr supermedusa can do a rescue/remove on)
posted by supermedusa at 11:39 AM on June 19 [2 favorites]
(I never harm any spoods outdoors [unless one is on my body - sorry] only if in the house, which often times mr supermedusa can do a rescue/remove on)
posted by supermedusa at 11:39 AM on June 19 [2 favorites]
After the amazing job they did on the mosquitos last year they are all welcome in my yard with their extensive interconnected webs
posted by bannana at 11:48 AM on June 19 [5 favorites]
posted by bannana at 11:48 AM on June 19 [5 favorites]
I should note that while Joro spiders are harmless to humans, and the panic about them seems massively overblown, I do wonder what the knock on effect on the ecosystems will be like (if any).
Are they competing with native spiders for food, and if so, how is that affecting native spider populations?
Do the animals that eat native spiders also regard Joro spiders as a good food source?
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 11:53 AM on June 19 [1 favorite]
Are they competing with native spiders for food, and if so, how is that affecting native spider populations?
Do the animals that eat native spiders also regard Joro spiders as a good food source?
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 11:53 AM on June 19 [1 favorite]
I'll be in Atlanta in late summer and am not!! looking forward to seeing these huge things!!
I wonder what impact this invasive species will have on American butterfly species like swallowtails, who are large enough to ignore most spiderwebs, but not these. And our fireflies, of course.
posted by Pallas Athena at 11:58 AM on June 19 [2 favorites]
I wonder what impact this invasive species will have on American butterfly species like swallowtails, who are large enough to ignore most spiderwebs, but not these. And our fireflies, of course.
posted by Pallas Athena at 11:58 AM on June 19 [2 favorites]
Hm, looks about like a yellow garden spider (Argiope aurantia) with different color choices. Maybe these are coming into particular areas that don't have any of North America's bigger orb weavers?
posted by away for regrooving at 12:25 PM on June 19 [1 favorite]
posted by away for regrooving at 12:25 PM on June 19 [1 favorite]
Apparently they're on their way to Toronto (or maybe are already here). While I don't want to run into one of these or into their webs I'll be happy to see them from a short distance. My kids are terrified of spiders though, even the tiny beige ones we have in the house, no matter how many times I tell them that they're harmless to us and are helping us out by eating insects. They will definitely freak out if we one of these gets inside the house.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:28 PM on June 19 [1 favorite]
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:28 PM on June 19 [1 favorite]
These spiders were a massive pain when I would spend time down South. Any gap between trees fences or buildings you'd walk through seemed to have a joro spider web. Normal spider webs you barely notice compared to a joro. When you hit a joro web you notice, you feel yourself pushing through it. A joro web will stick to your face and clothes and is annoying to pull off. The web itself is noticeably yellow on your clothes and if you look carefully you can see the yellow when the web is in the air. If you were walking slow it seemed some of the joros would vibrate in the center and shake the whole web, but it's hard to notice if you're going even a moderate walking speed. When you inevitably got a spider on your clothes you could tell it was doing it's best to get away, so they're definitely not particularly aggressive. I took to waving a stick in front of me to limit the number of webs I hit with my body.
The native orb weavers had the handy trick of extra thick zigzags so you could see the web. It kept you and the birds from running into and ruining their hard work. I appreciated the courtesy and did my best to avoid those webs
posted by ockmockbock at 12:52 PM on June 19 [5 favorites]
The native orb weavers had the handy trick of extra thick zigzags so you could see the web. It kept you and the birds from running into and ruining their hard work. I appreciated the courtesy and did my best to avoid those webs
posted by ockmockbock at 12:52 PM on June 19 [5 favorites]
So are we just shrugging off the "allergic reaction" thing, or do we need more information?
posted by Billiken at 1:00 PM on June 19
posted by Billiken at 1:00 PM on June 19
I have been following the news stories on these guys for so long, and I have yet to see one! Having lived through the deadly killer bee apocalypse stories, I worry a lot that people are going to start killing native spiders even more than they already do--are people going to get close enough to tell a Joro from a golden orb weaver, before they start panicking?
posted by mittens at 1:21 PM on June 19 [1 favorite]
posted by mittens at 1:21 PM on June 19 [1 favorite]
As far as I can figure out, golden orb weavers are a sort of golden yellow colour with a large body, whereas Joros are leggy and black with yellow stripes.
posted by Pallas Athena at 1:33 PM on June 19
posted by Pallas Athena at 1:33 PM on June 19
I love this little side comment in the article:
(*: Huntsman spiders, huge though they may be, aren't venomous but do click to communicate.)
posted by scruss at 2:15 PM on June 19 [2 favorites]
... Compare that to your average huntsman spider, which can have a leg span of up to 15cm, according to the Australian Museum.. Cue Australian news editor going, "But they're tiiiiny, and I bet they don't even click* to one another!"
(*: Huntsman spiders, huge though they may be, aren't venomous but do click to communicate.)
posted by scruss at 2:15 PM on June 19 [2 favorites]
i think the Joros are gorgeous!
but yeah - if one got on me, i would lose my shit. i grew up in a rural part of CA, and quickly learned to use the stick method - for snakes, as well. tap stick while walking thru open space, the snakes will hear you and sneak away. wave stick when walking through trees, so you don't wrap yourself in spiderwebs and find yourself doing the freak-out there's-a-spider-on me dance. hopefully.
tap tap tap wave tap tap...
posted by lapolla at 2:33 PM on June 19 [2 favorites]
but yeah - if one got on me, i would lose my shit. i grew up in a rural part of CA, and quickly learned to use the stick method - for snakes, as well. tap stick while walking thru open space, the snakes will hear you and sneak away. wave stick when walking through trees, so you don't wrap yourself in spiderwebs and find yourself doing the freak-out there's-a-spider-on me dance. hopefully.
tap tap tap wave tap tap...
posted by lapolla at 2:33 PM on June 19 [2 favorites]
(Remember if you are on a hike or walking through areas where spiders are likely to have strung webs across the path, tallest member of your group goes first. Saves a lot of trouble for the rest.)
posted by maxwelton at 2:38 PM on June 19 [3 favorites]
posted by maxwelton at 2:38 PM on June 19 [3 favorites]
I'm one of those people that mosquitos find especially delicious and their bites take an extra long time to heal.
So anything that eats mosquitos is my friend and will happily let them do their thing. I mean, I know the reason things like spiders eat mosquitos is because they often carry around my nutritious blood but still, fuck those insects, arachnid gang forever!
Outside. Inside the house the rules are different. A spider coming beneath my notice is a mortal sin but otherwise we're cool.
posted by VTX at 3:14 PM on June 19 [4 favorites]
So anything that eats mosquitos is my friend and will happily let them do their thing. I mean, I know the reason things like spiders eat mosquitos is because they often carry around my nutritious blood but still, fuck those insects, arachnid gang forever!
Outside. Inside the house the rules are different. A spider coming beneath my notice is a mortal sin but otherwise we're cool.
posted by VTX at 3:14 PM on June 19 [4 favorites]
It must be nice to have a non-deadly spider incursion. In Japan, about, lets say fifteen years ago, I saw the first news story about how redback spiders from Australia had spread through the southermost of the four main islands in Japan. Since then, there were stories here and there about how they'd managed to show up in another prefecture, until a couple years back when they announced there had been confirmed sightings of redbacks in all forty-seven prefectures. Lovely.
But wait, there's more! A couple years ago, wandering around a park near my home, I saw little signs all over, saying there had been reports of a new invasive species of spider, and if you see them, stay away, and contact the number on the sign immediately. As much as I'm terrified of even looking at photos of spiders, I took a look, and yeah, so, black widows are now a thing in my part of Japan. I'm a little less than thrilled about this.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:02 PM on June 19 [2 favorites]
But wait, there's more! A couple years ago, wandering around a park near my home, I saw little signs all over, saying there had been reports of a new invasive species of spider, and if you see them, stay away, and contact the number on the sign immediately. As much as I'm terrified of even looking at photos of spiders, I took a look, and yeah, so, black widows are now a thing in my part of Japan. I'm a little less than thrilled about this.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:02 PM on June 19 [2 favorites]
Between the centipedes, snakes, giant hornets, and I'm sure other things there are already a lot of poisonous critters in Japan to watch out for. It isn't at Australia levels but it's way more than I need to worry about here in Toronto.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 5:33 PM on June 19
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 5:33 PM on June 19
The more the merrier when it comes to predators of pests in my house. Spiders, house caterpillars, earwigs I like all of them.
posted by creiszhanson at 5:35 PM on June 19 [1 favorite]
posted by creiszhanson at 5:35 PM on June 19 [1 favorite]
The Dangerous Truth about the Jorō Spider (Ep. 150) - Uncanny Japan Podcast
Ok. I’ve been a big fan of this cuddly arachnid for a couple decades now. Both the insect and its mysterious yokai manifestation, too – yes, you’re going to love the darker side of this eight-legged enchantress. New York and those southern States it’s already infiltrated might be in a whole lot more trouble than they even imagined.posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 7:11 PM on June 19 [1 favorite]
Joro spiders are large and colourful but not dangerous to humans
The same is true of bumblebees. One flew between my eyes and glasses and ended up stinging me on an eyelid when I blinked. It felt like a tiny electric shock and raised a tiny blister that itched a tiny bit and then disappeared in ten minutes.
posted by y2karl at 7:28 PM on June 19 [1 favorite]
The same is true of bumblebees. One flew between my eyes and glasses and ended up stinging me on an eyelid when I blinked. It felt like a tiny electric shock and raised a tiny blister that itched a tiny bit and then disappeared in ten minutes.
posted by y2karl at 7:28 PM on June 19 [1 favorite]
I ran into these fir the first time last year hiking in upstate South Carolina woods. One set up above a trail I commonly use so I got to see her web last the entire summer. Entranced by the coloring on their bellies; I'd describe the detail as "the face of a alien digital watch showing the time on some strange planet".
posted by achrise at 10:09 AM on June 20
posted by achrise at 10:09 AM on June 20
Finally! Something else I can use my turkey baster for!
posted by donut_princess at 3:18 PM on June 20 [1 favorite]
posted by donut_princess at 3:18 PM on June 20 [1 favorite]
It has been driving me absolutely insane to see how many articles blithely repeat THEY CAN FLY THROUGH THE AIR WITH SILK!!! (as babies, like the majority of spiders do) and THEY HAVE VENOM!!! (extremely mild venom that can’t do much harm to a human, like the majority of spiders have.)
I was raised by a guy who was raised by an entomologist, and I will never understand the screeching terror reaction that some people have to bugs. They’re just little fucking animals! It’s fine! They have zero interest in you! Please do not kill them simply for the crime of being small and having more legs than you!
posted by showbiz_liz at 7:07 PM on June 20 [2 favorites]
I was raised by a guy who was raised by an entomologist, and I will never understand the screeching terror reaction that some people have to bugs. They’re just little fucking animals! It’s fine! They have zero interest in you! Please do not kill them simply for the crime of being small and having more legs than you!
posted by showbiz_liz at 7:07 PM on June 20 [2 favorites]
Also, I'm pretty sure fear of spiders is mostly a learned behaviour.
posted by sneebler at 8:47 AM on June 22 [1 favorite]
posted by sneebler at 8:47 AM on June 22 [1 favorite]
Oh these guys are basically EVERYWHERE in Japan in September or so. Big and conspicuous and more or less completely harmless, though they do have a bad habit of making webs across, say, underpass tunnels.
I guess Zelda fans can enjoy the fact that Skulltulas are based on joro spiders? I mean, we got an Australian redback spider on our balcony here in Kyoto so “invasive species that looks spooky and can’t hurt you no matter how hard it tries” is kind of hard to have much feelings about
posted by DoctorFedora at 5:44 AM on June 24 [1 favorite]
I guess Zelda fans can enjoy the fact that Skulltulas are based on joro spiders? I mean, we got an Australian redback spider on our balcony here in Kyoto so “invasive species that looks spooky and can’t hurt you no matter how hard it tries” is kind of hard to have much feelings about
posted by DoctorFedora at 5:44 AM on June 24 [1 favorite]
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