Hold on, what's a Joro spider anyway? We get answers to your questions about the invasive spiders potentially moving up the East Coast.
Arachnophobes, look away — there's a giant invasive spider that could be coming to the tri-state this summer.
"Barring some unforeseen circumstance, we expect the range of these things to continue expanding, likely to the north, and we’ve already seen that with some populations in Maryland."Adding to nightmares, the spiders are light enough to travel through the air by a process called"ballooning," making it even easier for them to spread.
"Between 2014–22, Jorō spiders spread outward in all directions from the location they were initially found by 50–80 miles, or about 10 miles per year. At that rate, they may reach southeastern Pennsylvania in 35 years and northwestern Pennsylvania in 60 years. However, spiderlings are capable of moving tens to hundreds of miles via ballooning," Penn State said."Additionally, as they increase in numbers, the risk of human-mediated transport to new areas also increases.
UDel entomologist Dr. Doug Tallamy downplayed a potential Joro invasion."It's possible but very low on the list of things we should be worried about," he wrote.Joro spiders are native to East Asia. It's believed the species likely made its way to the U.S. via a shipping container.Joro spiders are in the family of orb-weavers, which spin large, orb-shaped webs. They look similar to garden spiders and banana spiders.
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