WEBVTT - How Does the Invasive Joro Spider Work? 0:00:01.920 --> 0:00:04.320 Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio, 0:00:06.360 --> 0:00:10.879 Hey brain Stuff Lauren vogel bum here, an invasive species 0:00:10.920 --> 0:00:14.040 of spider is making itself comfortable in parts of the 0:00:14.040 --> 0:00:18.000 southern United States. But don't let the Joro spider give 0:00:18.040 --> 0:00:21.759 you the creepy Crawley's just yet. Between its golden webs 0:00:21.760 --> 0:00:24.800 and it's tarzan esque silk swinging tactics to track down 0:00:24.840 --> 0:00:28.080 a mate, this arachnet is a fascinating and as far 0:00:28.120 --> 0:00:32.080 as we know, harmless addition to the ecosystem, or unless 0:00:32.120 --> 0:00:35.800 you happen to be a stink bug. The Joro spider 0:00:35.920 --> 0:00:39.040 is native to East Asia, in Japan and South Korea. 0:00:39.159 --> 0:00:43.000 It's common names translate to things like entangling or binding 0:00:43.040 --> 0:00:46.879 bride and fortune teller spider, which reflect the beauty and 0:00:47.040 --> 0:00:50.879 intrigue of this orb weaver. The males are smaller and 0:00:50.960 --> 0:00:54.680 pretty drab, but the females feature yellow and bluish green 0:00:54.800 --> 0:00:58.440 bands across the body orangish bands on the spanning legs, 0:00:58.640 --> 0:01:02.720 and a bright red underbole. This spider can't actually tell 0:01:02.720 --> 0:01:06.319 your fortune, but she can weave a beautiful basket shaped 0:01:06.360 --> 0:01:12.000 web that reflects gold in the sunlight. Along with electronics 0:01:12.040 --> 0:01:15.679 and bananas, Exotic plants and critters like the Joro spider 0:01:15.840 --> 0:01:19.039 are known to hitchhike on America bound commodities, especially in 0:01:19.040 --> 0:01:23.400 shipping containers. Now, the Jora exists in twenty five counties 0:01:23.400 --> 0:01:27.160 in Georgia and parts of South Carolina. In some cases, 0:01:27.280 --> 0:01:31.080 homeowners have hundreds around their homes. They prefer to make 0:01:31.080 --> 0:01:33.920 their webs high in trees and have been found in forests, 0:01:34.040 --> 0:01:38.200 urban woods, porchlights, wooden decks, bushes, tall weeds, and even 0:01:38.240 --> 0:01:42.400 on the vinyl siding of homes. Their ability to adapt 0:01:42.560 --> 0:01:46.000 natural habitats and food sources in Georgia and South Carolina 0:01:46.319 --> 0:01:50.000 has allowed their numbers to swell. However, it's only a 0:01:50.000 --> 0:01:52.800 matter of time before predators catch up with the new resident. 0:01:54.480 --> 0:01:56.920 For the article, this episode is based on how Stuff 0:01:56.960 --> 0:02:00.120 Work spoke with Paul Gillibo, a professor of entomology at 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:03.840 the University of Georgia. He said, I think the spiders 0:02:03.880 --> 0:02:07.640 have spread so quickly here because predators, parasites, and diseases 0:02:07.680 --> 0:02:09.960 have not caught up with them yet. If there is 0:02:10.000 --> 0:02:13.360 a new large food resource like the booming spider population, 0:02:13.720 --> 0:02:18.639 something will ultimately take advantage. So, in other words, it's 0:02:18.720 --> 0:02:21.600 just a matter of time before birds or parasitic wasps 0:02:21.720 --> 0:02:26.200 figure out there's a new meal in town. Jora spiders 0:02:26.240 --> 0:02:28.880 tend to build webs close to each other, which helps 0:02:28.919 --> 0:02:31.720 the mating process. Since males don't make their own webs, 0:02:31.880 --> 0:02:35.400 a function that's left to the females to mate, males 0:02:35.480 --> 0:02:40.040 must pursue females, albeit carefully. They may use a gossamer 0:02:40.240 --> 0:02:42.800 and float on a breeze from tree to tree until 0:02:42.800 --> 0:02:45.760 a female is within sight, or until they spot a 0:02:46.040 --> 0:02:50.079 less male occupied web. It's kind of cute to think 0:02:50.080 --> 0:02:52.960 of this spider as a little Tarzan swinging from tree 0:02:52.960 --> 0:02:56.040 to tree to find his Jane, but that's where the 0:02:56.160 --> 0:02:59.680 romanticism ends. If a male spider isn't careful, he may 0:02:59.720 --> 0:03:04.320 become dinner instead. Gilibo said. The male will make a 0:03:04.360 --> 0:03:07.200 little web and deposit sperm there, and then suck up 0:03:07.200 --> 0:03:09.920 the sperm and structures near the mouth. Then the male 0:03:09.960 --> 0:03:13.200 tries to find a receptive female. The males are almost 0:03:13.200 --> 0:03:16.200 always smaller, so it's tricky business to make your move 0:03:16.280 --> 0:03:20.480 without being eaten. Gilibo says he's seen males around his 0:03:20.560 --> 0:03:23.400 house wait until a female is busy eating an insect 0:03:23.520 --> 0:03:28.200 before he approaches, which may be safer. Though the joro 0:03:28.320 --> 0:03:32.519 spider was first spotted in Georgia, it's still too early 0:03:32.560 --> 0:03:36.920 to understand it's big picture impact on the environment. So far, however, 0:03:36.960 --> 0:03:39.120 they seem to be thriving on a diet of stink 0:03:39.160 --> 0:03:43.040 bugs and other flying insects, which is actually appreciated by 0:03:43.080 --> 0:03:47.560 farmers whose crops can suffer from stink bug infestations. As 0:03:47.680 --> 0:03:50.960 or weavers, they will naturally compete with other or weavers 0:03:51.000 --> 0:03:54.240 for prey, but since they often weave their webs higher 0:03:54.240 --> 0:03:57.360 than other spiders, they may be catching different kinds of prey. 0:03:59.360 --> 0:04:02.600 Jorro spy ers are venomous like all spiders, but they 0:04:02.600 --> 0:04:05.120 aren't dangerous to you or your pets, and will only 0:04:05.160 --> 0:04:08.680 bite if they're scared enough to do so. Gilibo said. 0:04:09.200 --> 0:04:11.400 Even if you walk into a joro web, it will 0:04:11.440 --> 0:04:14.160 try to escape rather than attack you. If you catch 0:04:14.200 --> 0:04:16.240 a joro in your hand, it may bite you out 0:04:16.279 --> 0:04:18.520 of fear. If I were caught by a giant, i'd 0:04:18.560 --> 0:04:22.600 probably bite. If you do get bitten, you may be 0:04:22.720 --> 0:04:24.919 a bit uncomfortable, but it's not as bad as a 0:04:24.960 --> 0:04:29.000 brown recluse or a black widow. So what should you 0:04:29.000 --> 0:04:31.440 do if you see one? You may be tempted to 0:04:31.520 --> 0:04:35.520 kill it, but instead try being more curious. Gilibo suggests. 0:04:36.080 --> 0:04:38.640 He said, have a look at it every couple of days. 0:04:38.880 --> 0:04:42.080 Show your children they're fascinating to watch a toss an 0:04:42.080 --> 0:04:43.720 insect into the web if you want to see them 0:04:43.720 --> 0:04:46.880 in action, and don't kill spiders or anything else for 0:04:46.920 --> 0:04:55.440 no good reason. We're all playing our role in the ecosystem. 0:04:55.440 --> 0:04:58.400 Today's episode is based on the article the invasive fortune 0:04:58.440 --> 0:05:01.600 teller Joro Spider is getting Cozy in the US Own 0:05:01.640 --> 0:05:04.800 House to works dot com, written by Alison Troutner. Brain 0:05:04.880 --> 0:05:06.880 Stuff is production of I Heart Radio and partnership with 0:05:06.920 --> 0:05:09.240 how stuff works dot com, and it's produced by Tyler Klang. 0:05:09.800 --> 0:05:12.320 Four more podcasts from my heart Radio. Visit the iHeart 0:05:12.400 --> 0:05:15.040 Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 0:05:15.040 --> 0:05:15.760 favorite shows.