Tennessee park asks for help tracking hand-sized Joro spider dubbed 'escapee from spider jail'
Visitors to Great Smoky Mountains National Park are being asked to watch for the Joro spider, an invasive species with vivid yellow-and-black markings, as officials try to monitor where it appears next.
Although the hand-sized Joro spider can look alarming, park staff do not want people to disturb it — instead, they are asking the public to document any encounters so researchers can better understand how the species is spreading, according to WSMV .
Here's what to know
Great Smoky Mountains National Park indicated that public sightings are part of its effort to monitor the Joro spider, an invasive orb-weaving species spreading through the region.
The spider is native to East Asia and was first identified in the United States around 2013-2014.
Experts think it most likely entered the country in shipping containers, then gradually expanded across the Southeast.
Adult females are especially conspicuous.
With their legs stretched out, they can span about three inches, and the park says their bright yellow and black bands make them easy for hikers and homeowners to notice.
Officials added that they "look like an escapee from spider jail."
According to park officials, the spiders emerge in spring and their activity peaks in summer and fall.
More background
Sightings have already been recorded in about 10 to 12 states, and specialists say the species may continue pushing outward, including into the Northeast.
A major reason for that spread is how the spiders move when they are young.
As spiderlings, they release silk and ride the wind, which can carry them long distances and help them establish themselves far from where they first appeared.
Tracking invasive species helps scientists understand how quickly a nonnative animal is moving into new habitats and where it may already be becoming established.
In a biodiversity-rich area like the Smokies, that information can be especially important, since even small ecological shifts can have wider effects on local ecosystems.
What can be done?
Anyone who spots a Joro spider is being asked to leave it alone.
Instead, park officials recommend taking a photo that clearly shows both the spider and its exact location.
Those observations can be submitted through the free iNaturalist app, which is commonly used by researchers and community scientists to document plants and animals in the wild.
People can also send photos and location information directly to researchers at the University of Tennessee.
Spiders can show up across a wide area that professional researchers may not be able to survey on their own. Even one clear photo tied to a specific location can help researchers better track the species' spread.
"Your reports help University of Tennessee researchers map the spread of this invasive species and better understand its expansion across our region," the park advised.
Where can I learn more?
Joro spiders are drawing attention well beyond the Smokies, with sightings and response efforts showing up in other parts of the country as the species spreads.
These stories show how the invasive spider is turning up in very different places, from Tennessee trails to a California hotel and states farther north.
• In Tennessee, webs are spreading in the Smokies , prompting hikers to document sightings.
• In Santa Barbara, a Joro spider likely hitched a ride to a hotel on flowers.
• In Pennsylvania, officials scrambled after a giant invasive spider crossed state borders and raised alarms.
That wider pattern is why Smokies officials want detailed reports on public sightings. It also offers a clearer sense of how quickly the species may move and where it could appear next.
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