Invasive Jorō spiders can live well with humans, according to new study | CNN
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The invasive Jorō spider has baffled researchers by living near busy roads and urban places that other creatures tend to avoid. A new study might explain why.

As the Jorō spider continues to spread across the southeastern United States, its spindly homes can be spotted almost anywhere — even on power lines and stoplights hovering over busy roads.

Typical spiders — and most creatures — tend to find the noise and wind disturbance from nearby busy roads to be too stressful, but the Jorō spider doesn’t seem to mind much, according to a new study published in Arthropoda on February 13. This research could explain why the spiders are regularly spotted in urban areas that native spiders don’t inhabit and suggests the creatures are well-suited to thrive and spread in similar locations throughout the United States.

“If you ever look at a spiderweb next to a road, they’re jiggling and shaking, and it’s a cacophony of stimuli. … Roadsides are a really harsh place for an animal to live. But Jorōs seem to be able to live next to them,” said lead study author Andy Davis, a research scientist at the University of Georgia’s Odum School of Ecology.

  • @Whirling_Cloudburst
    6•10 months ago

    Yep. Like when you randomly walk into one or two of those webs face first at night. Sticky creepy chaos (boop!)

    • Zoot
      1•10 months ago

      I did this once but with a yellow orbed weaver in the woods. I couldn’t stop shaking for the majority of the night. Fuck spiders yo, they’re awesome, as long as they aren’t on me.