{"id":135348,"date":"2025-09-05T19:26:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T19:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/135348\/"},"modified":"2025-09-05T19:26:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T19:26:10","slug":"why-the-national-park-service-is-seeking-help-in-search-for-large-yellow-striped-spiders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/135348\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the National Park Service is seeking help in search for large, yellow-striped spiders"},"content":{"rendered":"

GATLINBURG, Tenn. \u2013\u00a0An invasive species of arachnid<\/a>, known as the Joro spider, is spinning webs far from its native range, and now the\u00a0National Park\u00a0<\/a>Service says it needs the public\u2019s help in tracking its expansion.<\/p>\n

Rangers report\u00a0<\/a>that the species has recently been spotted in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and there are no clear indications as to how far its presence now stretches along the Eastern Seaboard.<\/p>\n

Originally from East\u00a0Asia, the Joro spider was first detected in Georgia around 2013, and since then, it has been observed in most southern states.<\/p>\n

Entomologists say that the Joro spider is fairly recognizable due to its large, colorful yellow abdomen with blue stripes, its black-and-yellow banded legs and the distinctive golden-hued web.<\/p>\n

While they are not considered to be harmful to humans, Joro spiders can pose a threat to native spider populations and potentially disrupt local ecosystems.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Experts at the University of Georgia say<\/a>\u00a0the species\u2019 high metabolism rate may allow it to survive in cooler climates, increasing its chances of spreading farther north.<\/p>\n

\"JoroOriginally from East\u00a0Asia, the Joro spider was first detected in Georgia around 2013, and since then, it has been observed in most southern states. Hanstography \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

\"JoroWhile they are not considered to be harmful to humans, Joro spiders can pose a threat to native spider populations and potentially disrupt local ecosystems.\u00a0 NAYR Arts by Ryan \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

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Previous studies have compared the Joro spider with the golden silk spider, which migrated from tropical regions into the\u00a0Southeast\u00a0more than a century ago but has struggled during colder weather.<\/p>\n

In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, rangers report seeing increasing signs of the Joro spider, particularly in the Cades Cove area of eastern\u00a0Tennessee.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

To better understand the spread, the National Park Service is encouraging visitors to assist experts in documenting sightings.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you spot a Joro spider in the park, please upload a photo using the free\u00a0iNaturalist app<\/a>,\u201d NPS staff stated. \u201cYour observations will provide valuable data to help us better understand and manage this invasive species. Together, we can protect the Smokies\u2019 natural balance.\u201d<\/p>\n

With increased public involvement, scientists hope to monitor the Joro spider\u2019s expansion more effectively and conduct future studies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"GATLINBURG, Tenn. \u2013\u00a0An invasive species of arachnid, known as the Joro spider, is spinning webs far from its…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":135349,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[1680,46608,79,24641,194,201],"class_list":["post-135348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-national-parks","tag-poison","tag-science","tag-spiders","tag-us-news","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135348"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135348\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/135349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}