# \*Please\* let that be a mistake! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 29, 2020, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-let-that-be-a-mistake/916697 "2020-07-29T09:11:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2020, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-let-that-be-a-mistake/916697/1 "2020-07-29T09:11:16Z")
I’ve started a project to gather all of the photos of spiders I have taken over the last 20 years of having digital cameras, and with any luck identifying them. So tonight I find a few that I took of a spider on my front porch in 2010. [[Album] imgur.com ![](https://i.imgur.com/0QHJFMt.jpeg?fb "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/a/LOZ0okM) I let Google Lens have a try at it, it comes back with a very good match. The thumbnail description says “Trichonephila clavata, also known as the Jorō spider, is a member of the golden orb-web spider genus.” So far, so good. But the excerpt continues: “The spider can be found throughout Japa…” _Japan_? Guess that isn’t mine after all. But I click [the wiki link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichonephila_clavata) anyway, and find that the spider is found in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, and–_Northeast Georgia_? Well, given that information I feel pretty safe saying that they are found in Northwest South Carolina, too. (Coming soon to a state near you?) So I do a little more googling on the spider. I find [a story on the South Carlina public radio site](https://www.southcarolinapublicradio.org/post/joro-spider) (and here is where the thread title comes in) that says females can reach up to one meter in length. Okay, I _know_ that’s that’s not true. But the _image_! I’m no arachnophobe, but have no problem admitting that I would _not_ be happy to have my area colonized by 3 foot long fucking kaiju spiders. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2020, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-let-that-be-a-mistake/916697/2 "2020-07-29T09:33:10Z")
I guess the 3 ft refer to the web, not the spider, but it is a pretty thing. I suppose you could see it that way: the bigger the spider, the easier it is to see and avoid. No danger of accidentally swallowing a 3 ft spider in your sleep ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2020, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-let-that-be-a-mistake/916697/3 "2020-07-29T09:54:52Z")
The good thing about giant spiders is that you can hear them walk, so you’re more likely to know when one is around. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2020, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-let-that-be-a-mistake/916697/4 "2020-07-29T15:55:52Z")
…And thanks to Clint Eastwood, we know Napalm will take 'em out! ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2020, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-let-that-be-a-mistake/916697/5 "2020-07-29T20:43:18Z")
Is it possible “northeast Georgia” refers to the country and not the state? Although that’s still nowhere near Japan, China, Korea… ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2020, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-let-that-be-a-mistake/916697/6 "2020-07-29T20:55:34Z")
Ahhh, these fellas. The Nephila genus brings back fond and not-so-fond memories. They can bite painfully, but for the most part are very docile. It used to be that you could find one such spider hanging between almost every pair of trees on a mountain near my home. But as human development and deforestation took place, the spiders were sadly driven off. (Many of them were Nephila pilipes or Nephila maculata, though, not the Joro spider.) ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2020, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-let-that-be-a-mistake/916697/7 "2020-07-29T23:10:22Z")
I call foul on your lack of a descriptive title! I did not come in here expecting to see spiders! Ick! ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2020, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-let-that-be-a-mistake/916697/8 "2020-07-29T23:49:44Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > And thanks to Clint Eastwood, we know Napalm will take 'em out! So, **Darren\_Garrison** , what are your lat-lon coordinates? Asking for a friend who wants to minimize collateral damage. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2020, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-let-that-be-a-mistake/916697/9 "2020-07-30T08:19:46Z")
Gah!!!?!! I kinda hate you now. Trigger alert! TRIGGER ALERT!! Where’s my hand gun? (Gunning for BIG spiders, not Darren) ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2020, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-let-that-be-a-mistake/916697/10 "2020-07-30T20:25:59Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > No danger of accidentally swallowing a 3 ft spider in your sleep Oh, it’s no accident ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2021, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-let-that-be-a-mistake/916697/11 "2021-09-27T16:18:47Z")
Update: I jumped the gun on my original post. On closer scrutiny, I decided that was just a sub-adult native Writing Spider (_Argiope aurantia_) and not an invasive Japanese Jorō Spider here at my house. _This_ is an invasive Japanese Jorō Spider here at my house. [[Album] Japanese Jorō Spider (Trichonephila clavata) in South Carolina ![](https://i.imgur.com/3ViUN6D.jpeg?fb "Japanese Jorō Spider (Trichonephila clavata) in South Carolina") ](https://imgur.com/gallery/VPnuxny) ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2021, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-let-that-be-a-mistake/916697/12 "2021-09-27T17:40:58Z")
Six eyed spider burying itself. (Enjoy, Beck!) [https://www.youtube.com/results?search\_query=six+eyed+sand+spider+burying+itself+](https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=six+eyed+sand+spider+burying+itself+) ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2021, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-let-that-be-a-mistake/916697/13 "2021-10-13T17:17:48Z")
If it were in Asia and Georgia, maybe that means it was introduced as an invasive species to Georgia, but hasn’t yet spread through the rest of America? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2021, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-let-that-be-a-mistake/916697/14 "2021-10-13T18:39:08Z")
Well, yeah. > **[What to Know About Joro Spiders That Have Invaded Georgia](https://www.newsweek.com/joro-spider-poisonous-georgia-invasive-species-explode-numbers-large-venomous-1635714)** > > The large, colorful arachnid has spread rapidly across the state, and they look set to continue creeping into new territory. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2021, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-let-that-be-a-mistake/916697/15 "2021-10-13T19:20:37Z")
Better recent article: > **[Joro spiders cloak north Georgia in their webs](https://newswire.caes.uga.edu/story/8746/spiders-spiders-everywhere.html)** > > Millions of palm-sized Joro spiders have suspended themselves in three-dimensional golden webs on porches, power lines and mailboxes in roughly 25 counties in the state — and counting. Although their numbers are a nuisance, the spiders are not... I think it is only a matter of when, not if, they spread widely in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2021, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-let-that-be-a-mistake/916697/16 "2021-10-15T01:21:56Z")
Holy crap. I feel Northern Georgia is alittle too close, for my safety. I wish someone had nukes ready to blast them into teensy bits of nothing. Come on 3rd world countries! No yellow uranium laying around? Anybody got a house I can live in? In, say Oregon or Washington? Maybe Alaska? “I gotta get outta this place…” ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2021, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-let-that-be-a-mistake/916697/17 "2021-10-17T01:01:59Z")
Normally I would be all over trying to get daily photos of a large colorful spider, but in my first encounter with my Joro it was triggered to abandon its low, easily-accessable web to build one around 8 feet up and deeper in the brush. Now photographing it requires manually focusing the phone camera, putting it on a selfie stick, leaning forwards into the bushes with the stick held overhead, and blindly taking hundreds of photos in the hope that some will turn out okay. Thanks to a few fruitless attempts at that plus several days under the weather I have taken reasonable photos of the Joro only three times—the day I discovered it September 15th, September 29th, and most recently today, October 16th. Here are some of today’s best photos. Along with getting bigger its appearance has changed in each encounter, in the most recent photos finally an apparently well-fed full adult. Falling leaves are starting to accumulate on the web, but she seems to have little interest in clearing them off. With their being an introduced, possibly invasive species I probably should be bothered by the Joros arriving in the US, but having long had an interest in old Japanese folklore, I couldn’t be happer to be visited by one of the native Japanese creatures that feature in lots of old stories. > **[The Jorōgumo - Real Spider or Scary Monster? - Yokai Street](https://www.yokaistreet.com/jorogumo-the-spider-woman-yokai/)** > > The yokai Jorōgumo is one part beautiful woman, one part spider. This article covers everything you need to know to keep from getting caught in her web! (Okay, maybe I’d be happier with a tanuki…) [[Album] My latest Joro photos—Oct. 16 2021 ![](https://i.imgur.com/0kVnvd3.jpeg?fb "My latest Joro photos—Oct. 16 2021") ](https://imgur.com/gallery/bUgThQV) (How cool is it that the random Imgur folder name starts with “bUg”?) ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2021, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-let-that-be-a-mistake/916697/18 "2021-10-17T09:28:18Z")
My mother is getting them in northeast GA, so it’s happening. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2021, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-let-that-be-a-mistake/916697/19 "2021-10-17T10:48:45Z")
…and, if you have small children, they can ride the spider like a rocking horse.