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Jorō (Trichonephila clavata)

Joro spider included in the golden orb-weaver genus is indigenous to Japan, Korea, China, and Taiwan. Its presence in North America has been recorded by scientists, quite recently in 2015. It was initially a part of the Nephila genus, move to its present genus in 2019. Its immense size, and colorful appearance, has drawn many spider enthusiast’s attention towards it.

Scientific Classification

Joro Spider

 

Physical Description and Identification

Adults

Size: Female spiders are 0.66 – 0.98 inches (1.7 – 2.5 cm) and males are 0.27-0.39 inches (0.70 – 1 cm)

Females might have leg spans measuring 3 – 4 inches (7.62 – 10.16 cm)

Color: Female spiders have deep blue and yellow bands on their legs, and the abdomen is an infusion of red, yellow, and black in beautiful asymmetrical patterns. Males are not that attractive as they have a brown body.

Other Characteristic Features: Both males and females have an elongated abdomen and long banded legs.

Joro Spider Size

Eggs

Females make an egg sac on a silken base and lay around 400-1500 eggs in that. The sac remains covered with bright yellow silk, attached to branches or any human construction. The eggs overwinter and hatch the following spring.

Spiderlings

The spiderlings disperse from their mother upon maturation.

The Web

Female jorō spiders create big basket-shaped webs, having yellow silken threads, appearing brighter when exposed to sunlight. Unlike other orb spider webs, the three-layered web has one central orb accompanied by two asymmetrical layers, both at the orb’s front and backside.

Joro Spider Web

Are Jorō Spiders Venomous

Despite their fearful look, they are not considered dangerous. Their bite equals a bee sting resulting in redness, localized pain, and blisters on the skin that mostly heal in a day unless the affected person has severe allergies.

Quick Facts

Other Names East Asian Joro spider, Jorou spider, joro-gumo(Japanese) and  Mudang spider(Korea)
Distribution North America (Northeast Georgia), China, Korea, Taiwan, and Japan
Habitat Forests and human habitations
Diet Insects
Web Type Orb web
Lifespan Around 1 year
IUCN Conservation Status Least Concern

Did You Know

  • In Japanese mythology, the spider is described as a “whore spider” and “entangling or binding bride.” This is because it is known to transform into a seductive woman to allure men first and subsequently devour them. According to Korean belief, the spider is known as “shaman” or “fortune teller.”
  • Masao Nagasaki and his research team succeeded in creating a silken thread in the Shinshu University by injecting the eggs of silkworm with this spider’s genes. The resultant silk seemed much durable and soft than the conventional ones.

Image Credits: Thenatureniche.files.wordpress.com, S3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com, Thumbs-prod.si-cdn.com

Joro spider included in the golden orb-weaver genus is indigenous to Japan, Korea, China, and Taiwan. Its presence in North America has been recorded by scientists, quite recently in 2015. It was initially a part of the Nephila genus, move to its present genus in 2019. Its immense size, and colorful appearance, has drawn many spider enthusiast’s attention towards it.

Joro Spider

 

Physical Description and Identification

Adults

Size: Female spiders are 0.66 – 0.98 inches (1.7 – 2.5 cm) and males are 0.27-0.39 inches (0.70 – 1 cm)

Females might have leg spans measuring 3 – 4 inches (7.62 – 10.16 cm)

Color: Female spiders have deep blue and yellow bands on their legs, and the abdomen is an infusion of red, yellow, and black in beautiful asymmetrical patterns. Males are not that attractive as they have a brown body.

Other Characteristic Features: Both males and females have an elongated abdomen and long banded legs.

Joro Spider Size

Eggs

Females make an egg sac on a silken base and lay around 400-1500 eggs in that. The sac remains covered with bright yellow silk, attached to branches or any human construction. The eggs overwinter and hatch the following spring.

Spiderlings

The spiderlings disperse from their mother upon maturation.

The Web

Female jorō spiders create big basket-shaped webs, having yellow silken threads, appearing brighter when exposed to sunlight. Unlike other orb spider webs, the three-layered web has one central orb accompanied by two asymmetrical layers, both at the orb’s front and backside.

Joro Spider Web

Are Jorō Spiders Venomous

Despite their fearful look, they are not considered dangerous. Their bite equals a bee sting resulting in redness, localized pain, and blisters on the skin that mostly heal in a day unless the affected person has severe allergies.

Quick Facts

Other Names East Asian Joro spider, Jorou spider, joro-gumo(Japanese) and  Mudang spider(Korea)
Distribution North America (Northeast Georgia), China, Korea, Taiwan, and Japan
Habitat Forests and human habitations
Diet Insects
Web Type Orb web
Lifespan Around 1 year
IUCN Conservation Status Least Concern

Did You Know

  • In Japanese mythology, the spider is described as a “whore spider” and “entangling or binding bride.” This is because it is known to transform into a seductive woman to allure men first and subsequently devour them. According to Korean belief, the spider is known as “shaman” or “fortune teller.”
  • Masao Nagasaki and his research team succeeded in creating a silken thread in the Shinshu University by injecting the eggs of silkworm with this spider’s genes. The resultant silk seemed much durable and soft than the conventional ones.

Image Credits: Thenatureniche.files.wordpress.com, S3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com, Thumbs-prod.si-cdn.com

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