New study suggests Joro spiders are shy
phys.org
phys.org
For those unfamiliar, Jonathan Pruitt is a _former_ Professor charged with falsifying massive amounts of data relating to spider behavior. I was under the impression that most of his papers had been retracted.
I was not expecting anyone to reference his work. I will have to check it out, to see if this is still commonplace in the field - based on the hubbub and furor and #Pruittgate hashtags during the pandemic years, I was under the impression that spider biology was set back 10 years and nobody would touch the guy with a 10-foot pole.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effect_of_psychoactive_drugs_o...
Oh really? Do they flee in girlish screams of terror? Because otherwise...
As someone with arachnophobia, what a terrible day to be able to read.
Luckily in Europe don't have these huge and poisonous spiders found in places like the US and Australia.
Good news: Very few (like about 6) spider families are potentially dangerous to humans. Most spiders rarely bite us, or their fangs are not big enough to penetrate our skin, or their venom is not potent enough or voluminous enough to hurt us.
Spiders have a bad rap. I'd much rather have spiders in my house than flies or mosquitos.
Roaches for some reason though, evoke a sort of reaction in me that makes me want to become an arsonist.
Although I can't fault someone for having arachnophobia, as it's extremely common and we're potentially hard-wired to be susceptible to it, I encourage you to open your mind to the possibility of seeing spiders as incredibly beautiful.
Exposure to images online might be the easiest way to start, but seeing them in 3D is more impactful. I grew up terribly arachnophobic, and in my 20s I decided that (because I was living in a place brimming with spiders[1]) I would stop being arachnophobic. I decided to actively suppress my reactions first, simply to not panic, and over time that genuinely reduced my fear. Eventually I began to appreciate the weirdness and coolness of their little hydraulic bodies, and to see them as the valuable and amazing creatures they are. Truly, my life would be less full without spiders.
[1] I later learned that this is actually true pretty much everywhere.
If I saw some giant one in the wild? Game over, instant panic attack..
My ancestors must have seen some serious shit that I am so hard-wired to be terrified of these guys.
Of course, it's still startling when one appears indoors where you don't expect it, but at least now I can go on with my day or else move it outside.
This article suggests that if Joros are in Florida at all, it is a recent phenomenon
https://www.wesh.com/article/east-coast-parachuting-spiders/...
Growing up in the woods of Florida you become all too familiar with them.
Made from joro spider (AKA golden orb spider) silk.
I mean, it you own an apple orchard and some sort of apple eating bug shows up, that’ll ruin your business. But that’s just humans trying to impose order on the more dynamic natural world.
I can’t really get too worried about these invasive, unusually peaceful spiders. And they are pretty.
I think the difference here is the small scale for time and the large scale for space. With humans moving these animals around the planet and mixing ecosystems you end up forcing competition that reduces overall biodiversity.
A great example is "outdoor cats" - they're brought in by people and end up endangering the local small fauna. It's not "bad" if you like cats and don't like birds, but it leads to less species overall and I think that's the main concern.
> that’s just humans trying to impose order on the more dynamic natural world
I'd argue in this case nature is less dynamic and slow moving, we're causing the disruption - not failing to handle a natural change.