Joro spider

American  

[jawr-oh spahy-der] / ˈdʒɔr oʊ ˌspaɪ dər /

Sometimes Jorō spider or joro spider

noun

1. a large, multicolored, invasive but relatively harmless spider, Trichonephilia clavata (formerly classified with the genusNephilia ), found throughout much of Japan, Korea, China, and Taiwan, and recently introduced to the eastern United States: known as the “parachuting spider” for its habit of dropping, with long legs extended, from great heights.

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Etymology

Origin of Joro spider

First recorded in 2010–15; from Japanese jorō(gumo) “woman (spider),” in Japanese folklore a goblin that can change from a spider into a beautiful woman

Example Sentences

Although the Joro spider, an invasive species that has been spotted across the United States, including in California, isn’t dangerous, its size and the web it creates can seem like props from a horror movie.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

In their native Japan, the East Asian Joro spider colonizes most of the country.

From Science Daily • Feb. 13, 2024

The fact that a Joro spider and its web was found on the exterior of a freight container in a container yard at Tacoma, Wash., seems to support this hypothesis.

From Washington Post • Mar. 15, 2022

When Joro spider hatchlings emerge in the spring, they ride the wind on a strand of silk, floating across enormous distances like the baby spiders in the E.B.

From Scientific American • Mar. 7, 2022

In metro Atlanta, Jennifer Turpin — a self-described arachnophobe — stopped blowing leaves in her yard after inadvertently walking into a web created by the Joro spider.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 29, 2021