Massachusetts Will Soon Be Home to Giant Parachuting Spiders!
If that headline sends you packing your bags and putting the house on the market, relax. Wherever you go you’re likely to find the same problem. Eeek!
The Giant Joro spider is a large invasive arachnid who typically calls East Asia home. However, over the years they’ve begun hitching rides on board cargo ships to the states. They were first seen back in 2014 in Georgia but since then they’ve been spreading all their legs around the US. And how? 2 ways. First, the Giant Joro spider (I’ll embed a video below of them in action) emits a thick web which they Betsy Ross into parachutes, which they use to float on the wind through the sky as transportation. Next time you see a bunch of floating lanterns in the sky and you’re wondering who is letting those cute things off, RUN!!!
The second way the Joro spiders are spreading across the US is the same way they got here: hitchhiking! They’re known to hop on vehicles and ride to new destinations. Since they’re pretty adaptive and eat pretty much anything that gets caught in it’s web, the Joro spiders have had no problem spreading and thriving in new locations.
Now back to these suckers coming to New England and *gulp* Massachusetts. What’s up with that? And when can we expect to start seeing them in these parts? Scientists estimate that the Joro spiders will begin showing up in New York City sometime in the next year – so – that is roughly our timeline too. Any… minute… now. Yikes.
As for how they will affect our current ecosystem, that’s anyone’s guess. Some think since their invasive, rugged, and they’ll eat pretty much any bug (and more) they come across that they’ll cause seriously not-so-good implications. Others say it’ll be no big deal and they’ll just blend into the existing ecosystem. Now we just wait (in terror) and see.
While we wait, here, check them out in action:
And while we wait for that pest to start showing it’s thousand eyes around here, you can find plenty of another pest right now. And here’s where! (oh joy.):
Where's the best place to see rats in Boston
