The large, non-native Jorog spider has adapted well to life in the United States.

The study, published in the journal Arthropoda, tracked their movements in northeast Georgia. The authors argue that part of the spider’s success in the United States may have resulted from changes in its ability to withstand busy roads.

To measure how traffic affects spider behavior, the researchers conducted more than 350 trials on 20 roads with varying amounts of traffic. They touched the spider’s web with a tuning fork vibrating at 128 hertz, trying to imitate prey and stimulate the creature’s normal attack mechanisms.

Overall, the spiders attacked the mock prey 59% of the time. However, spiders near busy roads were less likely to attack than spiders near quiet roads. For spiders with nests in low-traffic areas, spiders have a 65% chance of attacking, whereas spiders near traffic have about a half chance of attacking.

The girl spider has arrived!

Differences in attack behavior suggest that heavy traffic and urbanization may impair the spiders’ ability to capture prey. But when researchers compared the weights of spiders in urban areas and spiders in low-traffic areas, they found that spiders living near the busiest roads weighed less than their counterparts. It turned out to be light.

The researchers say that, given that there is no noticeable difference in body weight between the two groups of spiders, this species likely compensates for the effects of often destructive traffic by choosing larger prey. writes. The researchers conclude that the spider’s ability to thrive in crowded urban ecosystems means it will likely continue to spread.

“Jorog spiders don’t seem to be afraid to build their webs under traffic lights or in places you don’t expect spiders to be,” said study co-author Alexa Schultz, a third-year ecology student. at the University of Georgia, he said in a news release. “I don’t know how happy people will be, but I think the spiders are here to stay.”