1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio, 2 00:00:06,360 --> 00:00:10,879 Speaker 1: Hey brain Stuff Lauren vogel bum here, an invasive species 3 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:14,040 Speaker 1: of spider is making itself comfortable in parts of the 4 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:18,000 Speaker 1: southern United States. But don't let the Joro spider give 5 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:21,759 Speaker 1: you the creepy Crawley's just yet. Between its golden webs 6 00:00:21,760 --> 00:00:24,800 Speaker 1: and it's tarzan esque silk swinging tactics to track down 7 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:28,080 Speaker 1: a mate, this arachnet is a fascinating and as far 8 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:32,080 Speaker 1: as we know, harmless addition to the ecosystem, or unless 9 00:00:32,120 --> 00:00:35,800 Speaker 1: you happen to be a stink bug. The Joro spider 10 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:39,040 Speaker 1: is native to East Asia, in Japan and South Korea. 11 00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:43,000 Speaker 1: It's common names translate to things like entangling or binding 12 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:46,879 Speaker 1: bride and fortune teller spider, which reflect the beauty and 13 00:00:47,040 --> 00:00:50,879 Speaker 1: intrigue of this orb weaver. The males are smaller and 14 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:54,680 Speaker 1: pretty drab, but the females feature yellow and bluish green 15 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:58,440 Speaker 1: bands across the body orangish bands on the spanning legs, 16 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:02,720 Speaker 1: and a bright red underbole. This spider can't actually tell 17 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:06,319 Speaker 1: your fortune, but she can weave a beautiful basket shaped 18 00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:12,000 Speaker 1: web that reflects gold in the sunlight. Along with electronics 19 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:15,679 Speaker 1: and bananas, Exotic plants and critters like the Joro spider 20 00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:19,039 Speaker 1: are known to hitchhike on America bound commodities, especially in 21 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:23,400 Speaker 1: shipping containers. Now, the Jora exists in twenty five counties 22 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:27,160 Speaker 1: in Georgia and parts of South Carolina. In some cases, 23 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:31,080 Speaker 1: homeowners have hundreds around their homes. They prefer to make 24 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:33,920 Speaker 1: their webs high in trees and have been found in forests, 25 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:38,200 Speaker 1: urban woods, porchlights, wooden decks, bushes, tall weeds, and even 26 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:42,400 Speaker 1: on the vinyl siding of homes. Their ability to adapt 27 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:46,000 Speaker 1: natural habitats and food sources in Georgia and South Carolina 28 00:01:46,319 --> 00:01:50,000 Speaker 1: has allowed their numbers to swell. However, it's only a 29 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:52,800 Speaker 1: matter of time before predators catch up with the new resident. 30 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:56,920 Speaker 1: For the article, this episode is based on how Stuff 31 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:00,120 Speaker 1: Work spoke with Paul Gillibo, a professor of entomology at 32 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:03,840 Speaker 1: the University of Georgia. He said, I think the spiders 33 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:07,640 Speaker 1: have spread so quickly here because predators, parasites, and diseases 34 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:09,960 Speaker 1: have not caught up with them yet. If there is 35 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:13,360 Speaker 1: a new large food resource like the booming spider population, 36 00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:18,639 Speaker 1: something will ultimately take advantage. So, in other words, it's 37 00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:21,600 Speaker 1: just a matter of time before birds or parasitic wasps 38 00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:26,200 Speaker 1: figure out there's a new meal in town. Jora spiders 39 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:28,880 Speaker 1: tend to build webs close to each other, which helps 40 00:02:28,919 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 1: the mating process. Since males don't make their own webs, 41 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 1: a function that's left to the females to mate, males 42 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:40,040 Speaker 1: must pursue females, albeit carefully. They may use a gossamer 43 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:42,800 Speaker 1: and float on a breeze from tree to tree until 44 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:45,760 Speaker 1: a female is within sight, or until they spot a 45 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:50,079 Speaker 1: less male occupied web. It's kind of cute to think 46 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:52,960 Speaker 1: of this spider as a little Tarzan swinging from tree 47 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:56,040 Speaker 1: to tree to find his Jane, but that's where the 48 00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:59,680 Speaker 1: romanticism ends. If a male spider isn't careful, he may 49 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:04,320 Speaker 1: become dinner instead. Gilibo said. The male will make a 50 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:07,200 Speaker 1: little web and deposit sperm there, and then suck up 51 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:09,920 Speaker 1: the sperm and structures near the mouth. Then the male 52 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:13,200 Speaker 1: tries to find a receptive female. The males are almost 53 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:16,200 Speaker 1: always smaller, so it's tricky business to make your move 54 00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:20,480 Speaker 1: without being eaten. Gilibo says he's seen males around his 55 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:23,400 Speaker 1: house wait until a female is busy eating an insect 56 00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:28,200 Speaker 1: before he approaches, which may be safer. Though the joro 57 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:32,519 Speaker 1: spider was first spotted in Georgia, it's still too early 58 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:36,920 Speaker 1: to understand it's big picture impact on the environment. So far, however, 59 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:39,120 Speaker 1: they seem to be thriving on a diet of stink 60 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:43,040 Speaker 1: bugs and other flying insects, which is actually appreciated by 61 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:47,560 Speaker 1: farmers whose crops can suffer from stink bug infestations. As 62 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:50,960 Speaker 1: or weavers, they will naturally compete with other or weavers 63 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:54,240 Speaker 1: for prey, but since they often weave their webs higher 64 00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:57,360 Speaker 1: than other spiders, they may be catching different kinds of prey. 65 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:02,600 Speaker 1: Jorro spy ers are venomous like all spiders, but they 66 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:05,120 Speaker 1: aren't dangerous to you or your pets, and will only 67 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:08,680 Speaker 1: bite if they're scared enough to do so. Gilibo said. 68 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:11,400 Speaker 1: Even if you walk into a joro web, it will 69 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 1: try to escape rather than attack you. If you catch 70 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:16,240 Speaker 1: a joro in your hand, it may bite you out 71 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:18,520 Speaker 1: of fear. If I were caught by a giant, i'd 72 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:22,600 Speaker 1: probably bite. If you do get bitten, you may be 73 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:24,919 Speaker 1: a bit uncomfortable, but it's not as bad as a 74 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:29,000 Speaker 1: brown recluse or a black widow. So what should you 75 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:31,440 Speaker 1: do if you see one? You may be tempted to 76 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:35,520 Speaker 1: kill it, but instead try being more curious. Gilibo suggests. 77 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:38,640 Speaker 1: He said, have a look at it every couple of days. 78 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:42,080 Speaker 1: Show your children they're fascinating to watch a toss an 79 00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:43,720 Speaker 1: insect into the web if you want to see them 80 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:46,880 Speaker 1: in action, and don't kill spiders or anything else for 81 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:55,440 Speaker 1: no good reason. We're all playing our role in the ecosystem. 82 00:04:55,440 --> 00:04:58,400 Speaker 1: Today's episode is based on the article the invasive fortune 83 00:04:58,440 --> 00:05:01,600 Speaker 1: teller Joro Spider is getting Cozy in the US Own 84 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:04,800 Speaker 1: House to works dot com, written by Alison Troutner. Brain 85 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:06,880 Speaker 1: Stuff is production of I Heart Radio and partnership with 86 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:09,240 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com, and it's produced by Tyler Klang. 87 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:12,320 Speaker 1: Four more podcasts from my heart Radio. Visit the iHeart 88 00:05:12,400 --> 00:05:15,040 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 89 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:15,760 Speaker 1: favorite shows.