Joro Spider Be on the Lookout
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Collapse ▲The Golden Orb Weaver or Joro Spider has invaded northeast Georgia and is heading our way. In the last five years, these giant spiders have spread to multiple counties in north Georgia.
UPDATE third week September 2024: The spiders have been spotted in Polk County, NC and in Pisgah Forest in the Davidson River Campground.
UPDATE fourth week September 2024: Two joro spiders were reported near Flat Rock, NC, one at Lake Sheila near Saluda, NC on the SC/NC border, and one at “Sleepy Gap Overlook,” just Southwest of Asheville.
What is the Big Deal?
Where they have established themselves these enormous spiders make walking outdoors in the late summer creepy, to say the least. The fall is when these spiders are the most noticeable because this when they achieve their full adult size. Outdoor recreation is seriously hampered by the robust webs when they are blocking hiking trails and near fishing waters. Fly lines will get tangled in these webs. Hikers and bikers are going to be unhappy about running into these enormous spiders and their robust webs!
Golden Orb Weaver
The Golden Orb Weaver/Joro Spider can be identified by black legs with yellow-orange stripes and a bright yellow body with bluish-green stripes on its back and red markings on its underside. It also spins gold-colored webs. Photo by Stephan Brown, USG
The Joro Spider is called the Golden Orb Weaver because the silken threads they spin are gold colored. The spiders spin huge webs using silk as thick as fishing line. Walking into a web as big as a person that houses a spider as big as your hand is unnerving. Fortunately, these spiders do not bite people or pets.
Personal Experience
This author experienced these spiders on a camping trip to Northeast Georgia. The sheer number of spiders was incredible. I counted a half dozen of the webs and spiders within 50 feet of each other. Their presence was noted every 20-30 feet down trails and along woodland edges. Walking around at night was a harrowing experience trying to avoid getting one of the spiders in the face.
Where Do Joro Spiders Live?
So far, it appears these spiders prefer areas near water. Ponds, streams, and rivers could be their preferred habitat. If you have a pond, boat, dock, or stream you will want to monitor these areas for the invasive spider. Reports are that people are finding these things all over the place, not just near water. Wherever there are vertically parallel power lines, there are hundreds of spiders. Tree climbing arborists report the spiders infesting tree tops.
Report Sightings
If you do see a Golden Orb Weaver/Joro Spider in Western North Carolina, please let me know by emailing me at steve_pettis@ncsu.edu . These spiders are distinguishable from our native orb weavers by their golden spider webs, the webs being high off the ground, and their coloration. Joro Spiders have distinguishable yellow stripes across their abdomen.
This Joro Spider was spotted on a farm near Columbus, NC in Polk County on September 19, 2024.
Joro Spiders spin webs higher than native spiders spanning up to 20 feet at times.
Native orb weavers are good spiders, capturing moths and other insects that can be pests to humans. Notice orb weavers are mostly black where Joro spiders are mostly yellow.
The Joro Spider can be identified by black legs with yellow-orange stripes and a bright yellow body with bluish-green stripes on its back and red markings on its underside. Photo by Stephan Brown, UGA