?Researchers Recruit Wasps To Help Locate Spiders

American soil has been blessed with the first documented arrival of an exotic spider that researchers believed to be dwelling solely in Asian territories. The unique spider is called the “joro spider,” and so far it has been found only in Georgia, but researchers believe that the joro spider has migrated to other areas of the United States, but they are not sure where. In an effort to track these spiders the scientific community is attempting to gather as many “mud dauber wasps” as they can. You may be wondering why researchers are hunting this wasp if they want to find a particular spider. The answer lies in the MD wasps hunting habits.

MD wasps are harmless to humans, but they hunt and paralyze a number of different spider species including the joro spider. The wasps do not kill the spiders right away, rather these spiders trap their prey inside nests made of clumps of mud until they are ready to eat their prey. Researchers are trying to motivate citizens to collect mud dauber nests so that scientists can get a better idea of their migratory patterns across the United States. So if you find a ball of mud that you think may have a joro spider concealed within it, then contact your closest entomology office.

Do you think that ordinary citizens will feel motivated to search for mud dauber nests made of mud without a financial incentive?