Joro Spider (Trichonephila clavate)

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Genus:	Trichonephila
Species:	T. clavata

The Joro Spider, also known as Trichonephila clavata, seems to be named after a Japanese spider demon, probably because it looks so scary. It used to only live in places like Japan and Korea, but now it has spread to some parts of the United States and is causing the population to grow.

It kills bugs like mosquitoes and stinks bugs, but the orb-shaped webs tend to take over the place where they are attached. When the spider isn’t making a web for its babies, it can use a string of its own silk to ride the wind.

What Is Special About Joro Spiders?

Even though the Joro spider is a pretty helpful animal, many people are afraid of it because it spreads quickly. After all, anyone who has never seen one in person might find it big and scary. They are mostly from Southeast Asia, but since 2013 they have been seen in Georgia. This is why people talk most about Joro spider Georgia.

Even though these spiders usually stick to themselves, there are so many of them in 25 counties in Georgia that they are making news. With their ballooning method, they can go up to 100 miles, gliding on air currents to get to their final destination. They can be very scary when they gather in groups around homes and in the woods.

Joro Spider vs Golden Orb Spider

The Golden Orb spider and the Jorō spider both make the same kind of orb-shaped web, and the silk they make is both gold. The main difference between these spiders, though, is how they look. The Joro spider has grey and dark blue stripes on its back and a red belly. On the other hand, the Golden Orb spider is usually brown or black and has a silvery or plum-coloured belly.

Southeast Asia is also where the Joro spider comes from. The Golden Orb spider lives in Australia, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, and Europe. Both species like warm places to live.

How To Identify a Joro Spider?

Through Size – So, how big is a joro spider? People know that the Joro spider has a large abdomen and even longer legs. Males are about 0.27 to 0.39 inches (0.7 to 1 cm) tall, and females are about 0.66 to 0.98 inches (1.7 to 2.5 cm) tall. Even in the state of Georgia, female joro spiders have been found with leg spans of 3 to 4 inches (7.62 to 10.16 cm).

Through Color – Female spiders have blue and yellow bands on their legs, and their abdomens have different red, yellow, and black patterns. Males are less interesting because their bodies are only brown. Most of the time, joro spiders are seen in the fall (September & October).

Origin Of Joro Spiders?

The Joro spider Georgia is from Asia, but it has been seen a lot this year in northern Georgia. According to the University of Georgia reports, the spider was first seen between 2013 and 2014. In 2015, scientists used genetic analysis to confirm that the spiders were Joro spiders, and Georgia Museum of Natural History collections director Rick Hoebeke followed them as they moved around the state. Scientists think that they stowed away on cargo ships and got there that way.

Since then, the spider has spread throughout the state and has been seen in almost 25 counties. This group of spiders is very good at moving around. They use a method called “ballooning,” in which the spiders spin a web to catch the air current and fly 50–100 miles before landing on a tree. Moreover, Joro spiders like to live at the edge of woods and near homes and often hang out together.

Joro Spider Facts!

Here is what you should know about the Joro spider:

• The Jorō spider is named after a spider demon from Japan.
• Even though the spider is poisonous, it only poses a threat to people who are allergic to them. Their bite is not too dangerous.
• It is an invasive species, which means that it doesn’t come from the places where it lives. Experts think that they travelled on cargo ships and grew in Georgia and other places in large numbers.
• Even though these spiders can look scary, they usually go after bugs that are hard to get rid of, like mosquitoes and stink bugs.
• This species can grow to be up to 4 inches wide at its widest point.

Characteristics

Trichonephila clavata spends the winter as eggs and then spreads out in the spring as tiny young. The body size of an adult female is 17–25 mm, while that of an adult male is 7–10 mm.

The females’ webs can be several metres long. When the yellow threads are out in the sun, they look like a rich gold colour. The cross-section of the web shows that it is not like a typical orb web. It has three layers: the orb in the middle and two irregular layers in front of and behind it.

The adult female has yellow and dark blue stripes, and the back of her abdomen is red. In the fall, smaller males can be seen in the females’ webs where they are mating. After mating, the female makes an egg sack on a tree and puts between 400 and 1500 eggs in it. The spider dies in late fall or early winter, which is the end of her life cycle. In the spring, the next generation comes out.

Even though the spider is not mean, it will bite to defend itself. The bite is thought to be very painful but not dangerous to your life.

Joro Spider Scientific Name

Trichonephila clavate is the scientific name for the Joro spider. It doesn’t have any other names. But it is called a Joro spider because it is named after a Japanese spider demon. It belongs to the Arachnida class and the Araneidae family. At the moment, there are no other types of them.

Friedrich Dahl gave the arachnid the name Trichonephila at the beginning of the 20th century to describe spiders that weave orbs into their webs. The word “clavata,” which means “club” in modern Latin, is where the word “clavata” comes from.

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How Does A Joro Spider Look Like?

The Joro spider is a species with a lot of colours. Even though male animals are often the most colourful, this spider is not one of them. Males’ bodies are usually brown and plain. On the other hand, females have black, red, and yellow patterns that aren’t symmetrically along their abdomens. These patterns go well with the blue and yellow bands that run along their legs.

Joro Spider Size

Want to know about the Joro spider size? How big is the Joro spider? The males and females are about the same size, but the females are a bit bigger. Males are usually between 0.7 and 1 cm long, but females are usually between 1.7 and 2.5 cm long, which is more than twice as long.

In Georgia, the largest Joro spiders can get even bigger, with a diameter of three to four inches. But its only defence is that it can bite, which is not enough to save its life.

Behavior

Even though a Joro spider is pretty big, it doesn’t pose much of a threat. Even though it can bite and release venom (which is not the same as being poisonous), it is not mean. Instead, they only bite when they feel threatened, which can be very painful.

These spiders are not afraid to use this defence when mating since the female often eats the male after mating with him. Still, these spiders seem to get along with other Joro spiders because they can live together in the same area without fighting.

To get where it needs to go, it uses the wind current to “balloon” along, letting its silk threads hang down behind it to catch itself in the air. They’ll grab onto anything, including a shipping container or a passing car, and ride it for up to a hundred kilometres. The only time the spider bites is when it needs to protect itself. Some people feel pain when this bites them. Even though the spider can release poison, it won’t hurt or kill you (unless you are allergic to this particular spider species).

What Joro” In Joro Spider Means?

“The name Joro comes from a ykai, or mythical creature, called Jorgumo in Japanese folklore.” Jorgumo is spiders that can change their appearance. They can look like beautiful women to catch and eat young men. The name in modern kanji means “bride who gets tangled up.”

What Makes Joro Spiders So Scary?

The Joro spider is enormous. “The spider is around 3-4 inches long (with its legs), which is about the size of our indigenous Argiope” (or yellow or black garden spider). Moreover, trichonephila (known as the golden silk spider or banana spider). Their spectacular appearance belies the fact that they pose no threat and can even be beneficial to us. These spiders are harmless and useful as a natural form of pest control.

What Do Joro Spiders Do?

“Joro spiders are calm creatures whose main goals are to catch bugs in their webs or find mates. “But they are big, much bigger than the spiders we’re used to seeing in the U.S. So if you’re afraid of spiders, you should know that these ones are huge.” These spiders make big webs. “Their webs can also be quite big. They can be strung between tree branches or across paths, and the silk threads must be strong enough for this bigger web size.

So it can be a bad surprise to get caught in one of these webs. The good news is that these spiders don’t like to live indoors, and their webs are made of golden threads that are easy to spot. Even the spiders themselves are not mean. But if you handle them wrong, they may bite to protect themselves. Their bites hurt like a bee or wasp sting. So if they scare you, the best thing to do is give them a lot of space.

Difference Between Female And Male Joro Spiders?

Female spiders are usually bigger than male spiders. Their bodies can be up to an inch long, and their legs can be 3–4 inches long. “Males are about 1/3 the size of females, and their legs are 1-1.5 inches long.

Are Joro Spider Helpful For The Planet?

Yes! These spiders are good for people. Spiders that make webs, like the Jojo spider, catch a lot of bugs, including mosquitoes and other flies that can be annoying. “In a way, it’s good for people to have spiders around. Still, invasive or introduced species like the Joro spider may hurt native spiders by making it harder for them to find food.

Habitat

The Joro spider lives mostly in Southeast Asia. They live in Japan, China, Taiwan, and Korea, but they like to live in places with more moisture. They will make a home wherever they can touch the ground.

Invasion of the United States by the spider first became a problem in 2013. It lives mostly in Georgia and the westernmost parts of South Carolina. So far, they don’t seem to be hurting the local ecosystem, but the warm and humid weather is perfect for the spider to grow and live. They eat bugs that people don’t like, like mosquitoes, and experts think that they will soon be able to live there on their own.

Joro Spider Predators

People around a Joro spider can learn a lot from what it eats. They eat meat, so they need the protein and other nutrients that come from insects to stay healthy. We don’t know much about how much they need to eat every day, but the fact that they eat common pests makes people more open to them.

The only time a Joro spider will try to eat a person or something else that isn’t in its normal diet is if it feels threatened. They have poison, but it doesn’t kill people. Joro spiders don’t seem to face any real dangers right now, which is why they’ve been able to spread so quickly.

What Eats Joro Spiders?

Some birds eat Joro spiders, but there isn’t one type of bird that likes them best. Even though they might be eaten by animals that eat bugs and spiders, they don’t have a specific animal that hunts them down.

What do Joro Spiders Eat?

The way they eat takes advantage of the fact that they need a warm and humid climate. Most of the time, they eat mosquitoes but will also eat yellow jackets, stink bugs, and other bugs. Their diet doesn’t affect the spiders that live in the area because they eat bugs that most spiders avoid. They passively catch their prey in their webs, though other spiders, like the dewdrop spider, have been eaten by this spider species.

Joro Spider Reproduction

Males mature at around two months of age, at the end of August. Females take a little longer and are not fully grown until they are three to four months old, which is no later than October. The male will climb onto the female’s web, which looks like a basket and hangs between two tree branches. She may lay anywhere from 400 to 500 eggs, but they are all kept in a single egg sac made of her silk.

When the baby is still in its egg sac with the others, the adults leave it alone and don’t care for it while it waits until summer to hatch. Due to their short lives, females usually don’t have a partner for life. They only get together to keep the species alive. Even though it has happened that more than one male fathered a single egg sac or that the female guarded the cocoon, these things don’t happen often enough to say if they are typical of the species or not.

When they are born, the babies can find their own food and walk around immediately. This baby spider doesn’t have a name, but some spider babies are called spiderlings. Both men and women live on average for one year. Most adults can’t live through the winter because the temperatures drop far below what they need to stay warm.

Population

At the moment, it’s not possible to say how many Jorō spiders there are in the world. The recent rise in their numbers in the U.S. has made many people worried, which is why there are no efforts being made to protect them right now. They are not at risk of going extinct and seem to do well in warmer places. The only thing that can hurt them is people, but even that hasn’t been enough to kill off the population.

Dangerous To Humans?

So, is the Joro spider poisonous? These spiders may look scary because they have long legs with bands and big bellies, but they are NOT dangerous to people. They are poisonous, like all spiders, but a single bite is about the same as a small bee sting. But a person shouldn’t worry about Joro spiders unless they are allergic to them.

Prevention

• You can do many things to keep spiders out of your home. Some of them are:
• Keep your house clean.
• Don’t leave out food that will bring in bugs, which will then bring in spiders.
• Spider webs should be vacuumed up often.
• Close up any holes or cracks in your home.
• Take care of your yard. Don’t put plants or other plants right next to your house.

FAQs: Joro Spider

What Does Joro Spiders Eat?

Like most orb-weaver spiders, these spiders eat bugs like mosquitoes, flies that bite, and even brown marmorated stink bugs.

Is A Joro Spider The Same As A Banana Spider?

The legs of a Joro spider are longer than those of a banana spider, but the banana spider has a bigger body. Joro spiders have bodies that are between 0.7in and 1in long and can weigh up to 0.5oz. However, their total length can be as long as 5 or 6 inches!

How Did The Joro Spider Get To The U.S.?

Joro spiders are from east Asia. In 2014, they were first seen in the United States in Georgia. It was brought in by accident, perhaps on plants or in a shipping container. Since 2014, Joro spiders have spread to North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, according to experts.

What Happens If A Joro Spider Bites You?

Now, let’s talk about a joro spider bite. Joro spiders are big and new to the area. Even though there have been scary stories about them, they are not dangerous to people because they rarely bite, and if they do, the venom is weak and not medically important.

Do Joro Spiders Eat Hummingbirds?

Female Joro birds can be as big as the palm of a person’s hand, but they don’t really eat hummingbirds. No one has ever heard of a Joro eating a hummingbird. Hummers can break out of a Joro’s golden web if they get caught in it.

What Kills Joro Spiders Best?

Do many people want to know how to kill Joro spider? Only if you are allergic to their venom should you be worried. How can I get rid of Joro spiders? The easiest way to get rid of this type of spider is to kill it yourself, but some people prefer to use insecticides instead. Still, using insecticides can kill other bugs around.

Are Joro Spiders Poisonous To Dogs?

No one thinks they are dangerous to people or animals, but some people may react badly to their bites.

Can Joro Spiders Jump?

They might be able to jump, but they don’t have to. They don’t have to jump to catch prey or get away from danger.

Can I Hold A Joro Spider?

Is Joro spider poisonous? The spider is poisonous but doesn’t hurt people because its fangs are too small to go through human skin. They also don’t bite unless they feel trapped. Still, people on social media have said that the Joro spider is the last thing they want to see.

What Is The Lifespan Of A Joro Spider?

Males are much smaller and have a brown colour that doesn’t stand out. Both only live for one year, and you’re most likely to see them in the fall. But the web may be the thing that makes a Joro spider stand out the most. They are called “orb weavers” because the webs they make are round and symmetrical.

What Does A Joro Spider Bite Feel Like?

If a Joro spider bites you, it will probably hurt like a bee sting. Like most spider bites, a Joro spider bite is poisonous but only hurts small bugs.

Can Joro Spiders Survive Cold?

Several researchers have looked into this question. It was found that the Joro spiders could handle a short freeze of two minutes at 32°F better. Only 50% of the golden silk spiders that were tested made it, but 74% of the Joro spiders did.

How Poisonous Is Joro Spider?

Technically, all spiders are poisonous, but you have nothing to worry about. Joro spiders are completely safe, and their fangs aren’t even big enough to hurt people.

Where Do Joro Spiders Lay Eggs?

A Joro spider’s egg sac looks exactly like a yellow garden spider’s sac. Using her silk, a spider can weave a sturdy bag. She will then put her sac (or sacs) in a safe place, like the thickest part of her web, the web under a big leaf, or the highest corner of the soffit of her home.

Do Joro Spiders Live In Houses?

Joro spiders like to live at the edge of woods and near homes and often hang out together.

Are Joro Spiders Poisonous To Cats?

Even though Joro spiders look scary and have a reputation for being dangerous, their bites rarely break the skin, and their venom doesn’t hurt humans, dogs, or cats unless they are allergic.

How Many Eggs Do Joro Spiders Lay?

A female Joro spider can lay anywhere from 400 to 1,500 eggs a year.

Do Joro Spiders Fall From The Sky?

Joro spiders could take over the whole east coast of the United States by dropping from the sky on parachutes made of spider silk. Joro spiders are from Japan, but in 2013 they were found for the first time in Georgia.

Are Joro Spiders Good?

Their webs are very wide, and some of them are as long as 10 feet. You can guess how many mosquitoes a web that big could catch. Since stink bugs and aphids are bad for our gardens and joro spiders eat them, they are the best natural pesticide.