A new University of Georgia study shows that Joro spiders tolerate city life better than most native spiders. The species has been known to make a home for itself next to busy roads and highly populated areas.
Andy Davis, a research scientist at the Odum School of Ecology, and his team studied how Joro spiders can live in urban environments. The study found that Joro spiders that live near busy areas are the same weight as spiders in less busy locations despite being less likely to attack simulated prey.
The researchers used a tuning fork to simulate the vibrations of prey when they get caught in a spider’s web. The experiment showed that roadside spiders attacked nearly half of the time while spiders in less busy areas attacked 65% of the time.
“If you’re a spider, you rely on vibrations to do your job and catch bugs,” said Davis, “But these Joro webs are everywhere in the fall, including right next to busy roads, and the spiders seem to be able to make a living there. For some reason, these spiders seem urban tolerant.”
The East Asian Joro spider is an invasive species that first came to Georgia in 2013. The species has been able to increase in population because of the similarities in climate between Georgia and Japan.
The Joro spider’s behavior is likely to remain unchanged, says Alexa Shultz, co-author of the study and third-year UGA ecology student.
“I don’t know how happy people are going to be about it, but I think the spiders are here to stay.” said Shultz.
