Trichonephila clavata

Trichonephila clavata pass winter as eggs and scatter as tiny juveniles in the spring. Like most spiders, females are much larger than males. The adult female's body size is while the male's is . The web of females may reach several meters in length. In sunlight, the yellow threads appear to be a rich gold color. The structure of the web seen in cross-section is unusual for an orb web; it has three layers: the central orb, plus two irregular layers in front and behind the orb. Both males and females have large abdomen and long legs. The adult female individual has stripes of yellow and dark blue, with red toward the rear of the abdomen. In autumn, smaller males may be seen in the webs of the females for copulating. After mating, the female spins an egg sack on a tree, laying 400 to 1,500 eggs in one sack. Her lifecycle ends by late autumn or early winter with the death of the spider. The next generation emerges in spring. ==Relationship to humans==

Risks to people This spider's bite does not pose significant risks to humans. Their small fangs and reluctant biting behavior make it unlikely for a bite to occur. When bites do take place, the venom is weak. The temporary pain and redness has been compared to that of a bee sting. In folklore The common name of the spider comes from the jorōgumo, a legendary spider in Japanese folklore that can transform into a beautiful woman who can breathe fire and control other spiders. She seeks men to seduce, whom she then binds in her silk and devours. Use N. clavata is a food for the Ao-Nagas. ==Introduced species in North America==

The Joro spider is an introduced species in northeast Georgia and northwest/upstate South Carolina, in the United States. They were first spotted in Hoschton, Georgia, in 2013. Since then, they have been seen in numerous locations in northeast Georgia, including the Athens area and also in Greenville, South Carolina. While the Joro spider was first observed in the warm climates of the Gulf and lower East Coast of the US, it is now expected to colonize much of the middle East Coast due to its relative imperviousness to modest cold. Scientists confirmed the first known occurrence of T. clavata in North America in 2014, The Joro spider has been spotted in many eastern U.S. states, including Alabama, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Florida, and West Virginia, and it appeared in the southern portions of New York and neighboring states sometime in the summer of 2024. The spiders "seem to be OK with living in a city", according to University of Georgia researcher Andy Davis, who added that he has seen them on streetlamps and telephone poles. In September 2024, one was photographed in Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts. As of 2022, because of the relative lack of information about the Joro spider's ecology, the impact it has on its new ecosystem is unknown. It has been observed catching the brown marmorated stink bug (Halymorpha halys), an invasive species that native spiders have not been known to eat, and there is hope that the impact of the species will be positive due to its harmless nature and consumption of primarily invasive or nuisance insects. ==Gallery==

Nephila clavata.jpg|Female spider in Ibaraki, Japan Nephila-clavata-f-eating-and-2-m.jpg|Female spider with two males in Tokyo, Japan Joro Spider Korea.jpg|Female spider found in Bukhansan National Park, Seoul, South Korea Joro spider found in Oconee County, South Carolina in October 2023.jpg|Joro spider found in Oconee County, South Carolina, US, in October 2023 Nephila Clavata.jpg|Female at a military base in Aibano, Japan Nephila-clavata-female-sevenlegs-Enoshima.jpg|Female with a male in the background on Enoshima, Japan File-Joro Spider 1 south korea.jpg|Female eating a ladybug in South Korea Nephila clavata jyorougumo nest.jpg|Web on electric power cable in Tanabe, Wakayama, Japan Jorogumo-rikugien-female-2009.jpg|Female in Rikugi-en Gardens, Tokyo, Japan P1390184 joro spider.jpg|Juvenile female in Duluth, Georgia, US ==See also==