Millions of huge invasive spiders from Asia take hold in Georgia: "Like a scene out of 'Arachnophobi
A large spider native to East Asia has spun its thick, golden web on power lines, porches and vegetable patches all over north Georgia this year — a proliferation that has driven some unnerved homeowners indoors and prompted a flood of anxious social media posts.
In metro Atlanta, Jennifer Turpin — a self-described arachnophobe — stopped blowing leaves in her yard after inadvertently walking into a web created by the Joro spider. Stephen Carter has avoided a walking trail along the Chattahoochee River where he encountered Joro webs every dozen steps.
Farther east in Winterville, Georgia, Will Hudson's front porch became unusable amid an abundance of Joro webs 10 feet deep. Hudson estimates he's killed more than 300 of the spiders on his property.
Last year, there were dozens of spiders, and they began to be something of a nuisance when I was doing yard work," Hudson said. "This year, I have several hundred, and they actually make the place look spooky with all the messy webs — like a scene out of 'Arachnophobia.'"
Millions of the large spiders have spun three-dimensional golden webs in roughly 25 counties, according to the University of Georgia.
The Joro — Trichonephila clavata — is part of a group of spiders known as orb weavers for their highly organized, wheel-shaped webs. Common in Japan, China, Korea and Taiwan, Joro females have colorful yellow, blue and red markings on their bodies. They can measure three inches across when their legs are fully extended.
It's not clear exactly how and when the first Joro spider arrived in the U.S. CBS affiliate WGCL-TV reported it is believed the spiders arrived in a shipping container that was dropped off somewhere along Interstate 85 in Georgia. They were first identified in the state in 2014 by Rick Hoebeke with the Georgia Museum of Natural History.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/joro-spider-asia-invasive-species-georgia/
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set up their homes between a maple tree and our second-story porch, where we were able to watch them from pretty close. Reportedly they're not currently believed to have a seriously adverse environmental effect.
My notions about them as new members of our little hill's community firmed up, though, when I learned the females would produce another 400-1500 Joros each year. With webs already springing up in short order, I was imagining needing to keep a broom outside for when we needed to clear a way into the house. And trapping small birds is not okay. Fortunately, nature's supposedly expected to produce some balance over time.
At least to this spider species in this location...
