Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio, Hey brain Stuff Lauren vogel bum here, an invasive species of spider is making itself comfortable in parts of the southern United States. But don't let the Joro spider give you the creepy Crawley's just yet. Between its golden webs and it's tarzan esque silk swinging tactics to track down a mate, this arachnet is a fascinating and as far as we know, harmless addition to the ecosystem, or unless
you happen to be a stink bug. The Joro spider is native to East Asia, in Japan and South Korea. It's common names translate to things like entangling or binding bride and fortune teller spider, which reflect the beauty and intrigue of this orb weaver. The males are smaller and pretty drab, but the females feature yellow and bluish green bands across the body orangish bands on the spanning legs,
and a bright red underbole. This spider can't actually tell your fortune, but she can weave a beautiful basket shaped web that reflects gold in the sunlight. Along with electronics and bananas, Exotic plants and critters like the Joro spider are known to hitchhike on America bound commodities, especially in shipping containers. Now, the Jora exists in twenty five counties in Georgia and parts of South Carolina. In some cases,
homeowners have hundreds around their homes. They prefer to make their webs high in trees and have been found in forests, urban woods, porchlights, wooden decks, bushes, tall weeds, and even on the vinyl siding of homes. Their ability to adapt natural habitats and food sources in Georgia and South Carolina has allowed their numbers to swell. However, it's only a matter of time before predators catch up with the new resident.
For the article, this episode is based on how Stuff Work spoke with Paul Gillibo, a professor of entomology at the University of Georgia. He said, I think the spiders have spread so quickly here because predators, parasites, and diseases have not caught up with them yet. If there is a new large food resource like the booming spider population, something will ultimately take advantage. So, in other words, it's just a matter of time before birds or parasitic wasps
figure out there's a new meal in town. Jora spiders tend to build webs close to each other, which helps the mating process. Since males don't make their own webs, a function that's left to the females to mate, males must pursue females, albeit carefully. They may use a gossamer and float on a breeze from tree to tree until a female is within sight, or until they spot a
less male occupied web. It's kind of cute to think of this spider as a little Tarzan swinging from tree to tree to find his Jane, but that's where the romanticism ends. If a male spider isn't careful, he may become dinner instead. Gilibo said. The male will make a little web and deposit sperm there, and then suck up the sperm and structures near the mouth. Then the male tries to find a receptive female. The males are almost always smaller, so it's tricky business to make your move
without being eaten. Gilibo says he's seen males around his house wait until a female is busy eating an insect before he approaches, which may be safer. Though the joro spider was first spotted in Georgia, it's still too early to understand it's big picture impact on the environment. So far, however, they seem to be thriving on a diet of stink bugs and other flying insects, which is actually appreciated by
farmers whose crops can suffer from stink bug infestations. As or weavers, they will naturally compete with other or weavers for prey, but since they often weave their webs higher than other spiders, they may be catching different kinds of prey. Jorro spy ers are venomous like all spiders, but they aren't dangerous to you or your pets, and will only bite if they're scared enough to do so. Gilibo said. Even if you walk into a joro web, it will
try to escape rather than attack you. If you catch a joro in your hand, it may bite you out of fear. If I were caught by a giant, i'd probably bite. If you do get bitten, you may be a bit uncomfortable, but it's not as bad as a brown recluse or a black widow. So what should you do if you see one? You may be tempted to kill it, but instead try being more curious. Gilibo suggests. He said, have a look at it every couple of days.
Show your children they're fascinating to watch a toss an insect into the web if you want to see them in action, and don't kill spiders or anything else for no good reason. We're all playing our role in the ecosystem. Today's episode is based on the article the invasive fortune teller Joro Spider is getting Cozy in the US Own
House to works dot com, written by Alison Troutner. Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio and partnership with how stuff works dot com, and it's produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts from my heart Radio. Visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.