Spiders of the Asian species Trichonephila clavata, also called Joro, are spreading along the east coast of the United States and are heading north, reported "Reuters" , quoted by NOVA.
The East Asian species is named after the mythical Japanese creature Jorogumo, which can transform into a beautiful woman and ensnare men with silk. With blue-black and yellow stripes, long legs and sometimes red spots, Joro may look terrifying, but they are actually quite shy.
„They are not dangerous and they are not aggressive. "Even if you go after the spider and harass it to the point where it bites you, it won't be a problem," said Daniel Kronauer, associate professor at Rockefeller University. Most spiders freeze in less than a minute when disturbed, but Joro can shut down for more than an hour, University of Georgia researchers found.
First spotted in the US in the state of Georgia a decade ago, female Joro can reach 20cm in diameter and males up to 10cm.
These spiders are native to China, Japan and Korea and can survive in the foothills of the Himalayas. They probably came to the US through trade routes. “Most of these invasive species are spread by humans, often in cargo that is carried by ships. Since then, they have spread steadily throughout the states of North and South Carolina, Virginia and Maryland. They are quite cold-resistant.
This is why we can expect them to move further north. The impact of the Joro spider on the US ecosystem is uncertain, although they tend to do very well in parks, gardens, and parking lots. There's a good chance we'll see some of them in New York this summer”, Kronauer said.
Joro is unlikely to bite people or pets. They prefer to eat mosquitoes, cockroaches, wasps and other insects.