Short Stuff: Joro Spiders | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

[Music]. hey and welcome to the short stuff I'm. Josh there's Chuck there's Jerry there. and we're caught in a web of greatness. because this is short stuff from stuff. you should know are you. sure a my brain got zapped for a second. there uh you know I just saw a joro. spider today eating uh either eating a. bee or fighting a bee I don't know what. was going on but it was tangling with a.

be could have been two different. steps perhaps I've seen a bunch of them. myself we have them all over the house. and I had been remarking to myself like. wow these things are all over the place. and uh you sent this and I was like oh. well that's why they're an invasive. species here in Georgia South Carolina. for sure and they're starting to move a. little bit uh northwestward into other. Southern States like Tennessee and. Alabama but definit up the Eastern.

Seaboard and what we're talking about is. um what CNN called giant venomous joro. spiders are infiltrating parts of the. US can you believe that I mean they. they're venomous they're Giant and they. are invading but come on yeah so after. you guys hear this short stuff you will. realize how just Preposterous that. headline from CNN is yeah for sure so. the scientific name of these uh. beautiful beautiful spiders are nefil.

clavada uh and they are uh from East. Asia and they got over here like a lot. of things get over here which is in like. shipping containers and stuff uh a lot. of times it's like Lumber is how you get. a lot of insects coming in and they came. over from East Asia and really made a. home here in the Southeast since I think. 2013 is when they first spotted him in. Georgia yeah Georgia leads the way in. Juro spiders yeah Atlanta's the The Hub. yeah I think my house is the Hub.

actually they're well you're also seeing. a lot of them now because the adults uh. come out and spin their webs in August. September October so um like you said. they're from East Asia and in Japan. they're called jro. gumo um and the reason I say Juro a lot. of people say joro which makes sense. because it's spelled j o r o but in the. Japanese spelling there's a a long. symbol over the second o so the first. one would not be a hard o it'd be just.

row okay that's right and that means. entangling or binding bride and you'll. see why they call them that in Korea. they're called mudang gomi which means. Shaman or fortune teller so however you. slice it these things have pretty cool. names and apply so because like you said. they're just absolutely beautiful and. they are pretty good size enough so that. you can see like all of them pretty. clearly yeah I mean they're big they're. orb weaver so they're gonna weave those. big beautiful webs that I mean their.

webs can be 10t wide uh the one I almost. walked into the other day like face. first was probably about 4 feet wide and. strung between two uh outdoor umbrellas. that were not close to each other so I. don't know if that part counts as the. width or not if that does it was more. like8 feet wow uh but if you've seen. these things and you said like oh that's. just a garden spider we have those when. I was growing up what are you talking. about guys not the same spider uh the. the garden spider looks a lot like it uh.

but there are some differences because. they're well different spiders uh garden. spiders the females are bigger than the. males and as far as the markings go uh. the garden spiders have yellow and black. basically only and the joros have yellow. and dark blue with a little bit of red. on their belly yeah they also have. orange bands like around their legs. they're just really really pretty um the. males of the juros spiders too are. smaller and they're kind of drab looking.

so if you ever see a Juro spider you're. like wow that is a cool looking spider. it's it's a female every time and then. the other dead giveaway is uh if it's. spinning a web it's a female because. only the females spin webs for juros. spiders and you said you walked face. first into or you almost walked face. first into a web correct have you ever. run into one um I mean I've walked. through some some spider webs in my day. like uh you do that a lot when you're. like back backpacking cuz you don't see.

them on the trail um so that happens a. lot uh and here that like I walked. through one earlier just kind of on my. arms but it wasn't you know the the. nightmare scene where it's you realize. it 3 in from the spider being on your. face kind of thing yeah so one of the. things that's um characteristic of Jos. spider webs is they don't necessarily. break like it takes a lot to just walk. through them like you can walk through. them and you're kind of going to bounce. off a little bit it's not you know not.

going to send you flying backwards but. it's not just going to snap as you walk. through it and I saw that they um the. webs are so strong birds can perch on. them like it's not like the bird's. getting caught in the web but they can. like just perch on the on the web for a. little while where they figure out where. to fly next wow that's a strong spider. web that is is that a good time for a. break I think so all right we'll take a. break we'll be right back after I go. take a quick shower. [Music].

just like the number of stars in the. there is so much stuff you should. [Music]. know so one of the reasons that Jos. spiders are um spreading so quickly is. because they're they're very new like.

you said a little over 10 years since. they were first spotted in the US which. means that um Predators haven't I guess. spotted them yet uh so they have a ready. supply of flying insects they apparently. particularly like stink bugs um and. little competition for those insects uh. in part I think because they weave their. web higher than other spiders that they. would be competing with for food and so. ample supply of food and no Predators.

means that any species is going to just. boom for a while and that's what we're. in we're in the Golden Age of juros. spiders booming all over the Eastern. United States that's right and uh if you. think you know how far North are they. going to get uh right now and I read an. article I think from June. 24 uh that said West Virginia is about. as far north as they've gone so far. except for a satellite population in.

Baltimore so they I guess got on a. container went to Baltimore and we're. like this isn't so bad uh I think one of. the things we did mention that uh you. know since they're so native to Georgia. especially um or not native I guess but. invaded in Georgia first the University. of Georgia has done a lot of studying on. them and they found that uh turns out. these guys can live in a lot colder. weather than they previously thought. they could so they'll be they'll be to. you soon New Jersey New York and Beyond.

yeah so a little bit more about um the. actual spiders themselves and how they. behave uh you'll notice like there's a a. couple of different webs basically right. up on each other geros spiders live very. close together I guess they're not super. territorial if it all um and again if. you see a a beautiful spider in the web. it's a female uh and there's probably a. male trying to get to her and he's using. all sorts of cute little tricks to to. make his way from one place to another.

toward his intended love Target oh man. you almost said. lover I would not say that I'm so I get. so deeply disturbed by that word for. some reason oh me too I think a lot of. people have that reaction there's. something and not only that but the. phrase take a lover is just like yes. it's so gross to me oh my God that and. moist and if you put them togethere oh. goodness me you need some of that uh no. never mind Bach Studio for a joke yeah.

we need that rub yeah oh goodness how. did this get so dirty all of a sudden uh. all right so they live close to each. other the males are trying to get the. attention uh they may float on little. cobwebby type things and just be like. hey look over here and the reason they. don't just jump up in a in a web and say. let's get this thing over with is. because the female will probably kill. the male and eat it uh so they're. they're walking a very fine line trying. to get some attention without being.

eaten uh so the University of Georgia. professor said you know a lot of times. like w the female is uh eating something. they might just walk up and say Hey you. enjoying that what do you think of me. right they uh apparently also the males. will like fly float on the air with a. little bit of gossamer like a little. parachute or a hang glider um from like. tree to tree or Branch to Branch making. their way toward a a web which is pretty. cute if you ask me but my friend should.

people be killing these things because. they're. invasive no you shouldn't for one thing. uh it's not entirely clear what kind of. impact they're having on the ecosystems. they move into but there's certainly no. apocalyptic impacts going on yeah. because everything seems to be fine and. the other spider populations don't seem. to be shrinking as the Juro spiders move. in it that's a really bizarre thing if. that's true if they're having like no we. weird impact but again they expect that.

they're going to start being predated on. that's harder to say than you'd think. yeah pretty soon so we don't shouldn't. have much to worry about and I hope this. isn't one of those podcasts that ages. like milk you know yeah um but yes I'm. hoping that that all the entomologists. are right where they're like just relax. everybody they're they're poisonous or. they're venomous and they will bite you. under certain circumstances but you if. you leave them alone or even if you walk. into their web more often than not.

they're going to run away from you so to. answer your question very long. roundabout way no you should not kill. them no uh I think they're basically. saying hey there's plenty of stink bugs. so that's fine uh it's not like they're. killing off the honeybees and if they do. bite you it'll you know you might get a. little local reaction but it's not the. kind of Venom that's going to do any. kind of harm to you really no and this. article likened it to a beasting and I. remember Yumi getting bitten by one of. these and I asked her was like was it. like a beast s she's like no it wasn't.

wasn't nearly as bad yeah so I decided. that wasn't a dramatic enough story so I. was going to tell everybody that her. hand blew up like a cabbage patched doll. she got bitten by one huh how'd that. happen she was gardening uh and they're. they are all over our yard and they got. in like one of her rose bushes while she. was deadheading her roses and um yeah. she got too close and it went and that. was that I'm Gonna Get You me some. gardening gloves. oh she's got some but sure give her some.

more you reach into all the hidey holes. with those things on yeah for sure. especially those heavy duty ones uh you. got anything. else I don't think so no I feel like we. covered everything Chuck you know what. that. means short stuff is. out stuff you should know is a. production of iHeart radio for more. podcasts my heart radio radio visit the.

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