A flying spider native to Asia was recently spotted in Boston marking the farthest north it has ever been spotted.
The Boston sighting comes after a photographer captured an image of the Joro spider. The Boston Heraldthen confirmed with a research scientist at the University of Georgia’s Odum School of Ecology that the image was of a Joro spider.
The Joro spider was first spotted in Georgia in 2014, according to Penn State extension.
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Arachnid researcher Andy Davis told the Herald that because the spider has made it so far north, it is likely that Joro spiders will venture to all parts of the U.S.
“It wouldn’t surprise me at all if people started seeing these in other northern areas,” Davis told the Herald. “They’re going to start showing up around the country, and a new study said they could even spread up to Canada.
“People need to learn to live with them because they’re coming, and you can’t stop it."
The good news for those arachnophobics: the Joro spider is afraid of humans and will shy away from people.
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Joro spiders are also considered weak biters and generally bites will only mildly sting.
"The impact of Joro spiders on the environment and native species is not yet known," Penn State Extension said. "Like all spiders, they are predators that feed on insects and other arthropods, so will necessarily feed on native species. Whether they will capture and consume enough insect biomass to affect anything remains to be seen. It’s also not clear if they will compete with and displace native species, including golden silk orb-weavers, Argiope species, and other large, web-building spiders."
The Boston-area sighting comes just after these spiders were first spotted in Pennsyvania. More than one of the yellow and black arachnids were discovered in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
The spiders eat mosquitoes, yellow jackets, and stink bugs to name a few.
While they are causing disruption to native insect populations as they spread, their venom is not deadly to humans.
