Jorō spider Coloring Pages

A Big Spider That Stands Out in Autumn

The Jorō spider is a spider that builds big webs in gardens, parks, and the edges of forests.
It is small and hard to spot during the summer. But when autumn comes, the female grows much bigger and you can find it everywhere!
A female's body is about 2 to 3 centimeters long. It looks even bigger when it spreads its long legs.
Its tummy has yellow and bluish-gray stripes, and its legs have black and yellow stripes. It has very bright colors!

Spiders Are Not Insects

Spiders are actually not insects.
Insects have 6 legs, but spiders have 8 legs.
Try counting the legs one by one on the first coloring page! There are 4 on the left and 4 on the right.
An insect's body has 3 parts: head, chest, and tummy. But a spider only has 2 parts: the head and chest combined into one part, and the tummy.
Spiders do not have wings or feelers either.

All the Legs Grow From the Front Body

All 8 legs grow from the smaller front part of the body.
This part, where the head and chest are combined, is called the cephalothorax.
Not a single leg grows from the big tummy!
The 2 short parts at the tip of the head are called pedipalps. They are not legs. The spider uses them to touch and hold its prey.

Females and Males Are Very Different in Size

The big spider sitting in the middle of the web is a female.
The male's body is less than half the size of the female! It is plain brown, too.
If you look closely at a female's web in autumn, you might find a tiny male hiding in the corner.
Both of these coloring pages show the female Jorō spider.

A Web Made of 3 Layers

The Jorō spider's web has 3 layers! It has a fine net in the middle, plus messy web layers in front and behind it.
The silk looks a little golden. It shines brightly in the sunlight!
The second coloring page shows the spider hanging from its web, seen from the side.
The Jorō spider always stays on its web with its head facing down.

Eating Bugs Caught in the Web

The Jorō spider eats bugs like flies, bees, dragonflies, and cicadas that get caught in its web.
When prey gets trapped, the spider feels the threads shake. It rushes right over!

The belly has yellow and gray stripes

The back of the belly has yellow and bluish light gray stripes.
Try coloring the shapes inside the lines with yellow and gray, one after the other!
In late autumn, female Jorō spiders get red patterns on the side and bottom of their belly.
On the second coloring page, it is fun to color one of the patterns on the side of the belly red!

Color the legs with black and yellow, one after the other

The legs have black and yellow stripes.
You can see dividing lines here and there on the legs.
If you color each section black, yellow, black, yellow, one after the other, it will look just like a real one!
Instead of pitch black, using dark gray for the black parts makes it easier to see the lines.

The front part of the body looks silvery

The front part of the body where the legs grow is covered with tiny whitish hairs, so it looks silver.
Color it softly with light gray, or leave it white to make it look nice!

Try adding a web

When you finish coloring, try drawing a spiderweb around the Jorō spider!
If you draw thin lines with a yellow or gold colored pencil, it will look just like a real web made by a Jorō spider.

Enjoy the different views on the two pages

The first page shows the view from the back, and the second page shows the view from the side.
The back pattern has more yellow, and the belly from the side has wavy stripes.
Color them to see how the patterns look different on the same Jorō spider when you look from different angles!

Golden Silk

The silk of the Jorō spider has a golden color.
In English, relatives of the Jorō spider are called by a name that means "spiders that weave golden orb webs."
Even though spider silk is super thin, people say it is harder to break than a piece of iron wire of the same thickness!

8 Eyes

Spiders usually have 8 eyes.
The Jorō spider also has 8 tiny eyes lined up on the front of its head.
However, their eyesight is not very good. They feel the shaking of the web's silk with their legs to know when prey has arrived.

Spending Winter as Eggs

At the end of autumn, the female lays an egg mass wrapped in white silk on tree trunks or building walls.
The parent spiders die when winter comes, so they spend the winter as eggs.
Next spring, many tiny baby spiders come out of the eggs!

Watch Without Touching

The Jorō spider is gentle and will not attack people.
However, it might bite you if you grab it, so observe it quietly without touching it.

Secret of the Name

It is said that the name "Jorō spider" comes from its bright and beautiful look.
The sight of it sitting on its golden web in the autumn sunlight is very pretty.