Big and scary-looking zoro spiders have spread from Asia to the southern United States and are now set to settle in the country’s cooler regions – but they have nothing to fear and they may actually be helping local ecosystems .
That’s according to scientists who have been studying the arachnid invaders since they first arrived in Georgia around 2013.
In just a few short years, golden webs bitten by bright yellow, dark blue and red spiders have become a common sight across the state, and new research suggests they will climb further up the eastern seaboard.
“The reason they were involved in this project was because they literally fell on our laps,” Andy Davis, an ecologist at the University of Georgia, told AFP on Friday.
“They’re everywhere here in North Georgia, they’re in my backyard.”
Davis set about studying the new resident, comparing it to the golden silk spider, which arrived in the southeastern United States from the tropics about 160 years ago.
Writing in a paper published in the journal Physiological Entomology, he and his co-author Ben Frick found similarities, but also differences between relatives.
The zoro spider’s metabolic rate is nearly twice that of its cousin, its heart beats 77 percent faster, and it can survive a cold for some time. They also grow fast.
Together, these traits mean that it can survive better in colder climates, which is not entirely surprising, given that it is native to temperate Japan.
They also specialize in gliding – spinning webs that act like parachutes and capture air currents – allowing them to fly for up to 100 miles (160 kilometres).
The paper examined records from iNaturalist, which tracks animal sightings, and found that the spider’s range has already expanded from Georgia to encompass the adjacent states of South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee.
There was also a report from far away Oklahoma.
Left to themselves, the Joros will probably work their way to the coast in 20 years, Davis said, but it’ll probably be faster if they hitch on the vehicles.
– call for clemency –
This is likely how they first arrived in the United States – either a female stowaway laid her eggs when she landed on a ship, or an egg sac was brought in and hatched in the spring.
Invasive species are often associated with destruction – such as the spotted lanternflies, a native of Southeast Asia that arrived in the US state of Pennsylvania in 2014 and are known to destroy fruit trees and ornamental plants.
But Joros’ eruption numbers are not necessarily a cause for concern, Davis argued.
“The golden silk spider is everywhere in the southeast, and it’s not doing any harm. It’s been here for so long, it’s integrated itself into the ecosystem, and Zoro may be following the same trajectory ,” They said.
In fact, it can provide a hearty meal for native predators, such as the mud dauber wasp, which prey on spiders. Other beneficiaries may include local lizards.
Another advantage: Joros also eats insects that local spiders do not eat, such as the adult brown maroon stink bug.
They are also not aggressive toward humans, nor are their fangs strong enough to pose any threat, stressed Davis, who called for clemency and understanding, not stigma.
“I really don’t think the Joros deserve to be crushed or killed like the speckled lanterns – they’re not really out to get us and it’s not their fault that they’re here. They were literally along for the ride, ” They said.
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