Posted on 03/10/2022 6:57:41 PM PST by bitt
An invasive species of spider the size of a child's hand is expected to “colonize” the entire East Coast this spring by parachuting down from the sky, researchers at the University of Georgia announced last week.
Why it matters: Large Joro spiders — millions of them — are expected to begin “ballooning” up and down the East Coast as early as May. Researchers have determined that the spiders can tolerate cold weather, but are harmless to humans as their fangs are too small to break human skin.
The Joro spider is native to Japan but began infiltrating the U.S. in 2013, concentrating in the southeast and specifically Georgia, according to NPR. They fanned out across the state using their webs as tiny, terrifying parachutes to travel with the wind. Threat level: Andy Davis, author of the study and a researcher at Georgia's Odum School of Ecology, tells Axios that it isn't certain how far north the spiders will travel, but they may make it as far north as D.C. or even Delaware.
“It looks like the Joro could probably survive throughout most of the Eastern Seaboard here, which is pretty sobering,” says Davis.
(Excerpt) Read more at axios.com ...
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It had to be spiders.....I hate spiders!
Now Ziggy played guitar.
Jamming good with Weird and Gilly
And The Spiders from Mars
It looks like only 3 legs on one side, 4 on the other. Need 4 legs to be a spider.
Ok, you first !
Yeah, me too.
Eww...
LOL
We call them Daddy Long Legs in Michigan.
Venomous, but their fangs can’t puncture human skin, so harmless.
This species is nicely colored. Hope to see one.
🕷 🤟
Get your old tennis or badminton racquets out...
Whatever happened with those?
News was full of them, and then...zilch.
Apparently, they are not toxic to the human touch.
Unlike several furry and brightly colored caterpillers.
Looks like that hot-crazy matrix will need to be updated.Jorogumo is a legendary creature in Japanese folklore. A Jorogumo is a spider who can change her appearance into that of a beautiful woman. She seeks men to seduce, whom she then binds in her silk and devours.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichonephila_clavata#In_folklore
...... Sadly ..... My guess is that at that point .... Spiders will be the least of our worries ..... Something wicked this way comes ....
In forming the best narrative they should that they are vampire spiders and that they will suck all of your blood. Then in the final stanza, the whole east coast is going to die. And of comment should be the usual “Have a great day”.
OK, Putin, you win! Nuke the east coast, please.
I live in Georgia, we have tons of these the last few years. The only really bad thing is they make webs all over that are thick and strong. Its no fun to walk into one. Especially with one of those huge things in the middle. I can attest to their heartiness in cold weather.
You need to scan your surroundings closely when walking trails. They are everywhere in September and October. Too bad they aren’t food.
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