We like spiders around here. Their webs are beautiful, especially in the summer when they catch the early-morning dew; the webs of orb-weaver spiders look like a web of diamonds in the morning sun. But best of all, they eat flies and mosquitoes. Some people don’t like spiders, and some even have an irrational fear of our eight-legged neighbors, so for these folks, some news out of Georgia may be disturbing. In that state, an invasive spider, the Eurasian Joro spider, has adapted well to urban life and is poised to spread.
The researchers found that while Joro spiders near busier roads are somewhat less likely to attack simulated prey, the spiders don’t seem to be hurting for it and clock in at about the same weight as their counterparts in less busy locations. That suggests the species can successfully compensate for its human-dominated landscape.
“If you’re a spider, you rely…
