The invasive joro spider, already entrenched in the southern United States, is destined for the New York area as early as this summer, those versed in critter migration say.
Wafting on the wind via its silken threads, the spider, native to East Asia, parachutes along and appears to fly.
Though its 4-inch leg span and 2-foot-wide webs may seem scary, invasive does not mean aggressive, scientists advise. In fact the joro spider is rather shy, according to a University of Georgia study conducted last year. While most spider species sidle away as soon as they know they’ve been detected, Trichonephila clavate has been known to freeze for up to 60 minutes or even longer.
They string their orb-like webs in places other spiders tend not to go, such as traffic lights and mailboxes. A recent study by the University of Georgia showed that these orb-weavers are able to tolerate vibrations and noise and thus are especially suited to urban environments.
Since 2021, their webs have been strung between power lines, along porches and across hiking trails throughout the Peach State. The spider has been spreading throughout the South for about 10 years, and now numbers in the millions in that region. They have been spotted as far north as Maryland.
This means their arrival in the Northeast is all but inevitable, experts say.
The good news is that they are harmless to humans and they eat the invasive spotted lantern fly — the proliferating pest that Gov. K Hochul has told everyone to kill on sight. While some have touted it as a “venomous” spider, that could apply to just about any arachnid.
“It’s not a dangerous spider,” entomologist and arachnologist Louis Sorkin, formerly with the American Museum of Natural History, told the Daily News.
Either way, the experts concur that “these things are here to stay,” said David Coyle, an assistant professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation at Clemson University in South Carolina, who published a peer-reviewed study on the matter last October.
With News Wire Services
