Spiders! Giant spiders! Giant flying spiders to colonise the east coast this spring!!

Of course, after the pandemic... after Biden as president... after the Ukraine war... what could we expect except------- giant flying spiders!

The Daily Mail

Hundreds of spiders the size of a child's hand will 'colonize' the entire East Coast this spring
Researchers say a spider that is the size of a child's hand could spread to much of the east coast after it rapidly spreading in Georgia from East Asia.

The Joro spider's golden web took over yards all over northern Georgia in 2021, unnerving some residents. The spider was also spotted in South Carolina, and entomologists expected it to spread throughout the Southeast.

A new study suggests it could spread even farther than that. The Joro appears better suited to colder temperatures than a related species, researchers at the University of Georgia said in a paper published last month.

It has about double the metabolism of a golden silk spider, a 77 percent higher heart rate and can survive a brief freeze that kills off its relatives, the study found.

The researchers also noted that Joros are found in much of Japan, which has a similar climate to the U.S.

'Just by looking at that, it looks like the Joros could probably survive throughout most of the Eastern seaboard here, which is pretty sobering,' study co-author Andy Davis said in a statement.

The joro spider, a large spider native to East Asia, is as big as the size of a human hand and can live in the cold thanks to its metabolism and heart rate
The joro spider, a large spider native to East Asia, is as big as the size of a human hand and can live in the cold thanks to its metabolism and heart rate
The Joro spider has considerably spread across the U.S. since its arrival on American soil in 2014. The spider was spotted invading southern states, including South Carolina and Georgia, but is now predicted to make its way to the northeast
The Joro spider has considerably spread across the U.S. since its arrival on American soil in 2014. The spider was spotted invading southern states, including South Carolina and Georgia, but is now predicted to make its way to the northeast
The Joro, also known as the trichonephila clavata, is part of a group of spiders known as orb weavers for their highly organized, wheel-shaped webs. It's name comes from the word 'Jorōgumo', which is a type of creature in Japanese folklore that can disguise itself as a beautiful woman preying on unsuspecting men.

Common in Japan, China, Korea and Taiwan, Joro females have colorful yellow, blue and red markings on their bodies. They can measure three inches (8 cm) in length when their legs are fully extended. Males are much plainer and they only have a brown body.

It's not clear why they have been so abundant this year, though experts agree their numbers have exploded.

It's also not clear exactly how and when the first Joro spider arrived in the U.S. although they most likely made their way to North America by tagging along on shipping containers, according to EarthSky.

'The potential for these spiders to be spread through people's movements is very high,' Benjamin Frick, co-author of the University of Georgia's study on the spiders, said in a statement.

'Anecdotally, right before we published this study, we got a report from a grad student at UGA [the University of Georgia] who had accidentally transported one of these to Oklahoma,' he added.

In Georgia, a researcher identified the first of many about 80 miles (128 km) northeast of Atlanta in 2014, according to the Associated Press.

However, these creatures also use a technique that scientists call 'ballooning' to fly.

They rely on a thread of silk, made out of their web, to parachute from place-to-place through the wind. They can potentially travel between 50 and 100 miles by using this method.

Female Joro spiders also tend to place their eggs in 'egg sacs,' which are made out of their web. They can lay around 400-1500 eggs.

The Joro is part of a group of spiders known as orb weavers for their highly organized, wheel-shaped webs.

Meanwhile, the impact of these spiders on native species and the environment is still being looked into, though some researchers believe they are benign.

Joros are venomous but experts say they are not a threat to humans or dogs and cats, and won't bite them unless they are feeling very threatened. If they do bite, then it will feel like an occasional pinch as the spiders' fangs aren't big and sharp enough to break through human skin, according to Paula Cushing, an arachnologist at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, who allowed one to go onto her palm.

In contrast, the Joro spider mostly preys on flies, mosquitos and stink bugs, with the latter being a threat to crops and not having any natural predators. Researchers say that the Joro could be a blessing in disguise for farmers and that they should be left alone.

'There's really no reason to go around actively squishing them,' Frick said. 'Humans are at the root of their invasion. Don't blame the Joro spider.'

More than 150 years ago, a cousin of the Joro spider called the golden silk spider also made its way to the United States from South America and the Caribbean.

However, unlike the Joro, these spiders do not have the same body-like features to spread in different climates across the country as they mainly stay in the southeast of the U.S.

The lifecycle of Joro spiders usually ends by late autumn or early winter. The next generation then emerges in spring.

Colorful, venomous palm-sized Joro spiders are set to take over the east coast

The Joro spider is one of many types of orb-weaver spiders belonging to the trichonephila genus. It can be found throughout Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China, and now in the US, noticeably in South Carolina and Georgia, since 2014.

Joro females have colorful yellow, blue and red markings on their bodies and are well-liked in Japan. They are roughly 0.66 to 0.98 inches (1.7 - 2.5 cm), but the ones found in Georgia can measure three inches (8 cm) in length when their legs are fully extended, according to anypest.com.

Male Joros are much plainer and they only have a brown body. They are smaller than their counterparts and roughly measure between 0.27 to 0.39 inches (0.70 - 1cm).

Joro spiders can be easily observed through spring, summer and fall, before the end of their one-year lifecycle in the winter (November & December).

Joro spiders typically have a one-year lifecycle and are invasive species native to Japan
Joro spiders typically have a one-year lifecycle and are invasive species native to Japan
They are venomous but do not pose as a threat to humans or house pets and won't bite them unless they feel in danger. Their fangs are also not long and sharp enough to penetrate human skin.

The eight-legged insects also suppress mosquitoes and biting flies. They are one of the few spiders that will catch and eat stink bugs, which are serious pests to many crops.

The Joros have about double the metabolism of the golden silk spider and a 77 percent higher heart rate, which enables them to live in the cold, unlike most spiders.

They use a 'ballooning' technique that allows them to catch air with their web, allowing them to travel 50-100 miles. Most often, Joro spiders can be found in groups and not far away from forests.

They are also great stowaways as they came to the U.S. by hanging on to cargo ships in 2014.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ne...st-Coast-spring.html

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