A palm-sized, brightly colored invasive species has made its way to Massachusetts, with one spotted in Boston’s historic Beacon Hill neighborhood.
According to WCVBresident Joe Schifferdecker recently spotted the distinctive bright yellow bands on the spider’s black legs in his neighborhood.
“It’s surprising that it’s in the middle of Boston on [a] main street and yet this is supposedly the first one in all of Massachusetts that has been sighted,” Schifferdecker told the outlet.
LARGEST MALE SPECIMEN OF THE WORLD’S MOST VENOMOUS SPIDER DISCOVERED IN AUSTRALIA
A yellow Joro spider in its web. (iStock)
Earlier this summer, scientists warned that invasive species could move from the south to the northeast. The Joro spider’s appearance in Boston this week is its northernmost commentary.
The JORO spider is spreading across the United States, but it’s not the invasive species we need to worry about.
But spider consultants say people shouldn’t worry too much about this venomous East Asian arthropod, which gives the phantasm of “flying” through the air with its elaborate silk webs.
“My sense is that people like the weird, the fantastical and potentially dangerous,” said David Nelsen, a biology professor at Southern Adventist College who has studied the growing range of Joro spiders, which range across the United States. United for the last decade. . “It’s one of those things that kind of checks all the boxes for public hysteria.” »
The Joro spider, a large spider native to East Asia, is seen in Johns Creek, Georgia in 2021. (Photograph AP/Alex Sanz, file)
What is the Joro spider?
The Joro spider is part of a group of spiders called orb weavers, named for their wheel-shaped webs.
They are native to East Asia, have a bright yellow and black coloring and the females can measure three to six inches long when fully stretched and is twice the size of males.
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They pose no threat to humans.
Adult Joro spiders are usually spotted between August and September.
