Joro spiders: friend or foe?

Joro spiders are large, colorful spiders that are now present in several southeastern states, including much of the Upstate of South Carolina. This video discusses what these spiders are, how to identify them, and what their potential impacts may be. There is still much we do not know about Joro spiders, and we can use your help by reporting where you see these creatures. Thanks to UntamedScience for producing this video.

[@marvelgurl1012]

I'm in AL and we don't have joro spiders yet, but I've been telling every stinkbug I see "You just wait, there's something coming for you, buddy."

[@byallmeansneccasary6884]

4 real PeriodT!

[@afrog2666]

Joro: "today, stinkbugs, tomorrow, THE UNIVERSE!" (evilspiderlaughingsound)

[@lucasbaxter5850]

Lolllllll

[@GeeOhDee88]

that's right let em know!!! 😂

[@BrooklynCalieEarth]

😂😂

[@LightningCayo]

The joro spiders are supposedly heading up to NY. Can’t wait to see them parachuting around, eating other bugs like wasps, and scaring people.

[@CharlesDelloRusso-sc3mc]

Creepy, creepy, crawly, crawly, BORIS THE SPIDER !!!! YEAH

[@joshuarose3081]

Your comment made me LOL thank you. As an Arizona Blonde Tarantula owner I can’t wait to see a Joro in person. I’ve read that they are seemingly friendly and shy.

[@jacobvarley5453]

No... just google it. Sensational bullshit honestly.

[@sargentthiccboi9333]

Apparently they’ll be in my area sometime soon too. I live spiders so this is pretty cool

[@theheritagehousesc]

I am in SC and I have them in my yard. They are not aggressive towards anyone, including native spiders, as far as I have observed. They build strong webs for sure. I have tons of native spiders around and none seem to bother each other. Boris seem to eat the same insects, including beneficials, like any other spider in my yard. I haven't observe any different behavior from them so far. They coexist side by side with the natives. They have built a web on my gazebo so they are easy to observe.

[@m808bscorpionmbt3]

You named it boris?

[@kennethfoskitt2565]

All over south Mississippi...my greatest fear when outdoors at night, especially when one covers your face

[@Lb00gie382]

That would be crazy af

[@deborahmotley7224]

😮😮

[@yourgrandmasalzheimerpills1143]

Absolutely a joy to free handle! Incredibly chill and docile species. Found a few in Athens Georgia. One of my favorites!

[@Darrinbewitched]

Look like a banana spider

[@MisterFleshcage]

I live in South Korea and during the summer and into the fall, these guys are EVERYWHERE. I think they especially like to build their webs using 90 degree surfaces.

[@That_Squatch]

I've seen videos of what they can really do and im not looking forward to having to destroy their homes but they just get everywhere with huge webs that are also incredible strong. My house already has a spider problem every summer and its basically a territory war between me and the spiders at this point

[@MisterFleshcage]

@@That_Squatch yeah, that's why I hated the spring and summer, because they'd come back out. 🙄

[@nohandleforme....]

These guys fall into one of my two favorite categories of spiders, which are Orb Weavers and Jumping Spiders. I love seeing the Garden Spiders making themselves at home in my garden. I've never seen them kill a Bee, but they do help out with some of the more harmful insects. If these Joros can make it up to Michigan, I would love to share my garden with them.

[@1MSally1965]

My garden spiders eat TONS of yellow jackets. Their nests are beside my tea camellias where they eat well late into the year. Always happy when I see them eating the wasps and hornets!

[@stephaniepfeiffer7062]

This was helpful and informative. Thank you for sharing

[@triv4555]

Been seeing these things all over my neighborhood (Grayson, GA) in the Fall lately, first last fall and now this one too. They’re so beautiful but the webs they make are so HUGE, it’s lowkey intimidating

[@austintrousdale2397]

Always enjoy Dr. Coyle’s presentations 👏

[@tammyhall3144]

They are so stunning !!!

[@mightylotan]

Interesting video, thanks. Definitely reminiscent of garden spiders I'd catch as a kid.

[@jorospiderappreciation]

Great overview.

[@J-lah7928]

How are these people letting those horrific things crawl on them. I can’t get rid of the chills now!

[@Da_Vulnerable_man]

Hopefully this is a solution for the lantern fly

[@Ace-1525]

I hope so! They're getting out of control!

[@jakewonderly6338]

If they kill lantern flies, I’ll personally introduce these spiders to PA😂

[@seankingwell3692]

Southern Ontario Canada, WE HAVE EM!!!! Its a miracle!!!! It all makes sense, we are growing more food plants for the first time in a century the past couple decades has been a surge in gardening and permiculture so the insects that eat those plants will follow, and now with more sophisticated predator roles who's size is in relation to available food, ours are not the size of your hand YET but our large fruit trees are not big yet I imagine if they are big and attract the Spotted Lantern Fly which i have not seen yet it will get larger. I also expect more types of birds and more dragon flies. We have a jumping spider here already which has gotten bigger off of white flies and aphids from perennial food crops returning every year, the White Tiger spiders are three times their size of the past and not changing. It really makes sense that another jumping spider role come into the garden as the number of bugs eating crops is highly diverse. I imagine lace wings will be high this year to, its always good to see lacewings.

[@hpb5495]

A bit similar to the writing spider whose web stretches across my garden shed window. She's a beauty!

[@moonwitch5466]

We used to have lots of garden spiders around our house every year but now it looks like my 3 “yard pets” as I call them are all Joro this year- their webs are so cool to look at, I don’t mind them being around.

[@rezopolis]

*Joro spiders: friend or foe?* Foe. _roll credits_

[@adlerjeramie]

THIS. 🤣🤣🤣

[@someguyto4675]

I always wanted to try handling one of these.

[@mrgeraldbroughton1105]

These spiders are taking over my backyard lol....They got webs all in the trees andmy deck in Stone Mountain Georgia

[@Sumoboi1]

same. their webs are really amazing

[@Pr0toPoTaT0]

I just liked your video 😀

[@MRMESQ1]

I’m in Gwinnett Co., Georgia…huge numbers of them. I first noticed them around 2019, they peaked around 2021, but the population was much lower last year.

[@stevesanzari7294]

Good to know ! First time I’ve heard of this Arachnid ! I would love to photograph one of these spiders as I’m an amateur wildlife photagrapher ! How far North can they live without the Winters affecting them ?

[@Ezio214]

Very cool!

[@jimmywingo6243]

I recently saw one here in the Mississippi-Yazoo delta a few miles from the Mississippi River.

[@banzaiib]

We've had tons of them the last 3 years in the Lake Lanier area. I kinda wonder what eats them... if anything.

[@tanyaarchibald270]

I've seen them when my daughter lived in Georgia. They are huge.

[@nothnx3210]

In Japan, they are everywhere when it's hot. However, they build webs really out of human walking space high up on the streets and by houses. They also love to be everywhere even moreso in the islands of Japan, especially in Okinawa.

[@wearhousecreations]

I’m in Rome (NW GA) and I’m ok for these things to stay WAAAAYYYY south of me. We have garden spiders, which are cool, but Joro webs freak me out a little!

[@Butterflyneverlands]

I love spiders so I always keep an eye open for them. Haven’t seen the joro here on Long Island, NY, yet. Last year tho I found that we had fewer spiders around than previous years. Hope we get them all back this year. Note: we had an explosion of praying mantis. Maybe they are predators to spiders 🤨

[@TruFrag]

In Oregon, we haven't spotted any, but I guess we are due to expect them soon. I don't think they will have any real negative impact on the local environment or local spider species... They consume other invasive that we don't currently have an answer for, so they may in fact be that answer... let's just hope they don't end up being our Cane Toad

[@cya8075]

Yaaay another friendly spidy for me to hold!!

[@indyschlumpf728]

Lots of spiders and webs this year, but haven’t seen many “writing” spiders.

[@xXLoneSoulXx]

I think they are adorable tbh

[@debra2697]

I just discovered several in my wooded area I also have the garden spiders we call writing spiders because of the zigzag in the web. They don’t seem bothered by each other, but I don’t want the Joro’s. I’m afraid they will catch bees that we need. Their webs are crazy complex 3-D and strong. I’m afraid for my hummingbirds. But if they eat stink bugs I may like them a little more

[@theheritagehousesc]

Native spiders catch bees too. Just move them into a different location where bees do not normally fly. Bees have a flying pattern.

[@marioaulicino2656]

o senhor conhece a Nephila Clavipes

[@michaelolsen2348]

I had a Joro spider blocking my creek behind my house. Lol. The web AND spider were huge. A few days after seeing it, other orb weavers......especially the ones with spikey looking backsides.....ended up leaving......and i had a ton of those. The only orb weavers that stayed were the biggest ones. The brownish/gray ones. Not sure what theyre called. So im not sure if the spikey ones left cuz of the Joro or what. I saw only one though. I didnt bother it.

[@stevesanzari7294]

The Spikey spiders are Micrathenas ! A beautiful little garden spider !

[@michaelolsen2348]

@@stevesanzari7294 thank you. Yes those! Those joros chased them off......I believe

[@7towers777]

That's what I do in the greenhouse I have spiders which look similar to the Joro but much smaller that spins web nightly across my aisles that I need to walk down 😲. They're typically in the middle or mostly I break their web and I sweep them aside.😁. What is creepy for me if I have web on my legs especially when I'm wearing shorts. But the spider rarely is ever on my being and if it is it's trying to scurry faster than I'm scared

[@benbeasant3443]

Travelling in Korea brought me here. They are everywhere, even in urban settings.

[@PatrickPierceBateman]

I for one welcome our new spider overlords.

[@sargentthiccboi9333]

My gf told me about these possibly coming to my area. I heard they aren’t harmful to anything so I’m not worried

[@goodnhappy41]

I don't mind the joro because it eats the stink bugs but I hate the webs they are yellowish in color and very strong.

[@theheritagehousesc]

Yes very strong webs but beautiful, especially after a rain.

[@1MSally1965]

I hate wasps so good for her! I have seven garden spider nests in my yard and I hope they ALL hatch. Garden spiders are harmless.

[@coopergates9680]

Beats me why he said wasps are so beneficial. They're usually parasitic so the exception is the samurai ones that kill those stupid brown stink bugs

[@byallmeansneccasary6884]

I never seen 1of these beautiful spiders in my area we got them creepy daddylong legged 1s that ya brother chased u in the house with as a kid an traumatized you. But this is a cool looking spider. I wouldn't kill it like I do the 1s in my house

[@mikewild4504]

How far north have these spiders migrated?

[@FNRClemson]

So far, it looks like Tennessee/North Carolina, but researchers at UGA think they may eventually spread all along the east coast.

[@louisegoins7630]

Um hummingbirds are caught in the joro webs, then die even if joros don't eat the hummingbird.

[@jamesp.reesejr.6905]

??? These spiders have been nesting off US98 near Dade City for over 6 years (at least that's when I first saw them there) by the hundreds

[@matthewcarter5361]

I live close to Clemson University. I've noticed more of these spiders all over my property mainly in the last few years. Used to see tons of Eastern Spotted Orb weavers and Garden Spiders. Now all I see are Joro's

[@Goatisme]

Wish we had spiders like that in Québec although they say the banana spiders are moving up to the southern areas like nearby montreal's. But hey we have somewhat big ones, the coastal spiders are big, the wolf spiders are pretty big too (saw 1-2 inch wide ones, my parents actually seen a banana spider/tarantula sized one in the woods while I was walking in front once hahah), my appartment staircases and hallway are actually "crewed" by long legged cellar spiders (once I was checkin the fricking mail and one that was 4-5 inch wide legspan slowly crawled down from the ceiling next to my face). Appartment complex employees and to an extend even its corpo and affiliates actually say these are common in every building and infest em but that they are also tolerated because they are great pest control and prevent many nasty crap from infesting the place like flying bugs, bedbugs, earwigs (god I had 200 on my balcony last year and several dozen would seep in every week, some even climbed the back of my desk chair to pinch my ass twice, they violated the NAP, so hundreds of earwig had to die and I had to pinpoint entry points to block them from entering). These are some of the most procreative spiders actually, personally I like them and find em amiable although they're brittle and I worry about hurting them for the seldom times they crawl around my place's floor. Ultimately the fact they're outside spiders will make it so they are rarely sucessfull up here and we have winters with day temperatures that dip into the -50f (-45c) which last for weeks with the usual half the year long winters. Most animals native to up here have a really hard time getting outrooted by any invasives due to their northern adaptations making them able to outcompete any newcomer (except fuckin earwigs god I hate them).

[@danman132x]

It's good to know they are harmless to humans, but I am TERRIFIED of spiders. If I ran into this web, or a golden orb spider, I would probably die. My skin crawls just thinking of it. Why am I so scared of spiders??

[@Lifeisadreamcometrue.]

I’m here in Japan and they are everywhere.

[@7towers777]

I love spiders , work in a greenhouse. Have been using biologicals for over 10 years .What is interesting to me My spider population diversified! I really don't believe we have to worry about joro being harmful to our native population but you still can't be too sure but I think their benefit

[@KING-CALAMITY]

I want to OVERCOME FEAR OF SPIDERS but they soo SCARY LOOKING give me PANIC ATTACK 🤣💯

[@shumoko]

making good strides watching videos like this, try handling some, jumping spiders are one of the cutest and easiest to be comfortable with, also noted as being the smartest spiders out there, and it shows with their quirky personalities. wolf spiders are a good one to try too due to how scary they look, but they are apparently the second smartest spiders after jumpers, easy to handle and work with.

[@olyacarell6434]

They have 0 interest in humans. Good luck 👍

[@guttagutta420]

I can’t get over my fear of spiders. I’m not scared of any other creature but spiders give me the creeps.

[@unipeg420]

I would think with their webs being so big. It would push the garden spiders out since their webs aren't so big to catch food. This could be a problem since I love the garden spiders the most. And if they're catching less food that could make their population decline too. I hope our native or Weaver survive this.

[@Wesley-Insley-Comedy]

Nahhh it killed a wasp and me and the wasps go back a long ways. I’m glad my spider-homie was looking out

[@chickenfarm09]

So the already dwindling butterfly and moth populations, bees, lightning bugs, lacewings, dragonflies will all be prey. Everybody seems to act like this is not a big deal, but a web that large will certainly catch things.

[@marioaulicino2656]

conhece a aranha camelo

[@rebeccacosta1953]

Is it posones

[@suruxstrawde8322]

*venomous, and every spider is, that has zero relation to how aggressive a species is tho. And these act no different than your average garden or house spider.

[@cordeliabuffy6419]

I have 3 baby ones in my strawberry patch. They don't bother me and any spider is welcome in my gardens.

[@agquaproductions9361]

I wish I was not afraid of spiders enough to do this. I hate them.

[@youtubemanfr]

same

[@officedullard8722]

they make a good monster girl too

[@tracyhill4550]

They can kill all the wasp. What benefits do wasps do?

[@deborahmotley7224]

I wish i wasn't afraid of them 😕

[@suruxstrawde8322]

Gotta expose yourself to spider knowledge, fear can't function when its paranoias are disproved completely.

[@TheVelaRock]

I don't think that these spiders can travel miles away just using their webs to parachute in NY. There has to be some human intervention in the introduction of these species in North America. How will these species affect the ecosystem in the US??

[@JOLENE2008]

🥰

[@tulw2728]

Send them over to Oklahoma. We need them here.

[@mohemadfaizandabhoya]

I have arachnophobia and even the tiniest 2-3mm spiders scare the shit out of me and if i ever see this one iam moving countries man😬

[@youtubemanfr]

literally

[@chiquicat1]

I think he meant a can of insect killer instead of a broom. Noted.

[@rickyinwakayama]

Pretty sure they're bigger here in Japan

[@Woodlawn22]

Are they being found in houses?

[@pacmancdi]

Hopefully. They would be pretty good pest control.

[@youtubemanfr]

@@pacmancdi Hopefully not. I'm scared of every type of spider. If I see this, I'm spraying it.

[@pacmancdi]

@@youtubemanfr understandable but spiders keep much worse insects under control and 98% of them are totally harmless to humans. I used to be scared of them too until I started learning more about them.

[@MsBizzyGurl]

Why aren't birds eating them?

[@og-big-shepherd4468]

Probably bc they are scared

[@frankpaws]

So what did I see 30 years ago?

[@TerrellHilliard-nw2xq]

Exactly I've been seeing this spider way before the 2010's usually around fall every year

[@Zoolama34709]

A garden or banana spider

[@buddinganarchist]

Big spider fan. Don't kill em, save em for me haha

[@scrapperd7827]

Here from tmz

[@lincoln169]

I am not a fan of spiders but, they are pretty

[@Jh1236ejjwjfnrg0w]

Idk about yall but i have been dreading on when theor going to be in nyc, im terrified of any and every spider, even house spiders. Pretty soon im going to have a pleasent suprise😡😱😨

[@Napskilla]

How are wasps beneficial?

[@Jack-ns9sz]

pollinators

[@Napskilla]

@@Jack-ns9sz nope

[@RyushuSuperCat]

@@Napskilla yes

[@Napskilla]

@@RyushuSuperCat in general no. They are beneficial by controlling pests that harm crops. Look it up sucker

[@triv4555]

@@Napskillahow tf you gonna ask the question then refute it and provide your own answer when someone else tries to answer it 😂💀

[@deborahmotley7224]

Move it???!!!! 😂 im sorry, but i would be getting bug spray. Aint no way i could get close enough to move it. I hope i dont ever see one to close to my house.

[@freespeech-1776]

last summer I killed a JORO Spider here in Poteau Oklahoma

[@SankofaNYC]

0:21 Quick!!! Someone call Kendrick Lamar and let him know I got a interlude for his next song!

[@patrickbardales967]

Bro tell me how this is taking over the world right now

[@crispifys4463]

The spiders themselves? or the videos like this and people talking about them?

[@suruxstrawde8322]

They're not, they've actually been here for years

[@Sam-ef3bj]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/p4jEeImqd6qnask (it's a 4 second long scream)

[@kate1269]

Geeze, listening to the news you'd think we're being attacked by highly venomous, flying spiders, that'll land on your head and bite you.

[@stephencooper3583]

... and knock you down and take your wallet. 😆 Yeah, the news people kind of over did it. All the time I'm thinking it looked just like a regular Orb spider and was wondering if I was missing something. Apparently, I wasn't... they're only slightly bigger than the ones we've had all along, and just as harmless.

[@lordgalaxy1684]

I would usually call spiders the children of Satan just because of how unsettling i find there appearance even if there not malicious i admit i like them for different reasons but once im that close to a big one i just completely change mentally i may just be spiderphobic i dont even know at this point

[@suruxstrawde8322]

That's 100% a phobia, there's almost never any danger at all.

[@spindalis79]

Why do you call them Banana Spiders? The proper name is Golden Silk Orb Weaver.

[@TheGymnasticstwin]

Im so sacrd or spitrs

[@JesusLover3412]

I hope God sends those spiders to the West Coast as well, to keep the Giant Hornet population in check.

[@joeyr1697]

HELLLLLLL NOOOOOOOOOOO

[@JBG1968]

They are absolutely dangerous . If I see one of these things i will have a heart attack . That seems pretty dangerous

[@paranoidhumanoid]

If they eat lantern flies, roaches, stink bugs, gnats, ticks, and mosquitos, it's all good!

[@lindickison3055]

Seems like they -and their huge, in-your-face webs could trap and kill our little hummers and other small birds.

[@slavaamericana6236]

2 words. Hell naw

[@scottmiller2421]

How about just leave them. Alone they are hurting anything

[@Tom-ps2cq]

“Writing” spiders

[@erich84502a]

😅😂launch the hellfire missiles

[@chozusmakavelli]

this guy obviously hasn't seen the movie Arachnophobia.

[@jacobvarley5453]

All seriousness, I'm sure he has and they used huntsman spiders from new Zealand, and they're 100% harmless. The spiders from the movie were actually the most friendly of those they had in total.

[@chozusmakavelli]

@@jacobvarley5453 didn't look like it lol

[@friendlier]

Thank you for this scientific fact-driven piece. Some right wingers will no doubt come up with a conspiracy theory about this. 😆

[@dakotaalexander9292]

Spider>wasps I absolutely cannot stand wasps.

[@user-mm1se7gy7e]

If its invasive , its gotta go !