Scientists Say The Giant Japanese Joro Spider Is Spreading Across The U.S.

Um, do we really need giant spiders from other countries roaming the U.S.A right now?

The Joro Spider is native to Japan and has made its way to the U.S.A and scientists say they are spreading!

When I say giant, I’m talking palm-sized which to me is pretty freaking big for a spider and I would rather not have anything to do with all that.

People should try to learn to live with them.

Andy Davis, a research scientist in the Odum School of Ecology and one of the authors behind the recent study, told UGA Today, a publication by the University of Georgia

They can grow to be about 3 inches long and have a large bulbous body that has bright yellow stripes, they kind of look like the garden spiders we have.

However, on the underside of its belly, it has very distinctive red markings and it spins webs that look like golden-colored silk, which is quite unique.

The Joro Spider gets its name from Jorōgumo, which is from Japanese folklore.

The Jorōgumo can turn itself into a woman of great beauty and then preys on men.

They’ve been in the southeastern USA where it is warmer for about a decade, but they are starting to move and are expected to head into the Eastern Seaboard.

According to a study, they are expecting them to head into the cooler climates and will likely be able to survive brief freeze spells.

Thankfully, it doesn’t seem that the Joro Spider is dangerous and shouldn’t impact our ecosystem or agriculture.

Andy Davis says that they may even be beneficial to our environment here in the U.S.A as another food source for our native birds.

The spider does have venom that it uses to hunt and kill prey, but scientists have said they are harmless to us as well as our pets because their fangs are too small to puncture our skin.

Andy Davis says we should leave them alone if we see them, so I guess I will just treat them as I do our garden spiders and just admire them from a distance.

If they’re literally in your way, I can see taking a web down and moving them to the side, but they’re just going to be back next year.

Andy Davis told UGA Today

It’s believed that the Joro Spiders made their way here in shipping containers from Japan.