Giant parachuting spiders

2022 - 3 - 9

parachuting spiders

Will giant Joro spiders parachute their way into N.J. and other northern states? (unknown)

These large critters have been exploding in some southern states during the past year, and experts say their webs can fly through the air.

One Joro spider was found in Oklahoma, but it didn’t get there by flying through the air. Last year, the Joro spider’s wide golden web took over yards, porches and power lines all across northern Georgia, unnerving some residents. So our frigid winters in New Jersey might not stop them from moving here. The researchers from the University of Georgia also noted that Joro spiders are found in much of Japan, which has a similar climate to the U. S. Experts say the Joro spider was first seen in the southeastern United States in 2013, likely hitching a ride on a cargo container from Asia. But the spider’s numbers grew significantly in 2021 and the critter has now been spotted in parts of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. “Researchers have found the spiders can travel using their webs like balloons or parachutes to ride the wind,” CNN noted in a recent report about this invasive spider that has been causing a stir in some southern states for a few years.

Post cover — Image courtesy of "Snopes.com"

What We Know About the Giant, Parachuting Spiders 'Invading' the ... (Snopes.com)

Endemic to Japan, the Joro spider likely entered the U.S. in shipping containers.

Giant Spiders Are Raining Down on the East Coast (Papermag)

In a devastating development for arachnophobes all along the eastern seaboard, large spiders are apparently set to rain down across the entire Coast this spring ...

“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.” We're all processing the best way we know how. So, not only are these gangly 4-inch long creepy crawlers are going to give you a heart attack when you inevitably stumble upon one chilling in your bathtub, but it looks like there's not much we can do to stop it. However, they do have the terrifying ability to essentially fly from one place to another using their silk as a hang glider in a process called "ballooning," which does paint a terrifying mental image of drink coaster-sized arachnids raining down on unsuspecting Georgians like some sort of biblical plague.

Giant spiders expected to drop from sky across the East Coast this spring (unknown)

The Joro spider is native to Japan but began infiltrating the U.S. in 2013, concentrating in the southeast and specifically Georgia.

They're coming and they're harmless. Our thought bubble: Researchers say there's nothing we can do. * 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.

Giant spiders are invading the East Coast! This is not a drill! Evacuate to Toledo! Now! (unknown)

The East Coast faces an invasion of 3-inch Joro spiders that can parachute from the sky. It's clearly time for everyone to move to the Midwest.

At this juncture, I want to make it abundantly clear that while I will put my house on the market and move to a hotel at the sight of a spider, I don’t in any way advocate killing spiders. Consider this entirely non-reassuring part of the USA TODAY story on the Joro invasion: “The size of the spider may frighten people, but experts say they shouldn't worry. 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.” It’s a horrifying creature with a weakness for blood, just learn to live with it.” WHAT?!?! You want me to “learn to live” with a 3-inch-long brightly colored spider that can lay an egg sack containing up to 1,500 eggs and spins webs as wide as 10 feet! Such was the case Wednesday when this headline appeared on USA TODAY’s website: “A spider as big as the palm of your hand could soon invade the East Coast, scientists say.”

Giant parachuting ‘Joro’ spiders set to invade eastern U.S. this summer (unknown)

Hatchlings of the Joro spider (Trichonephila clavata) take to the air using self-made parachutes, silken webs spun to catch air currents and float to whatever ...

But unlike their more delicate cousins, the Joros’ robust metabolism and ability to withstand freezes means their habitat won’t long remain confined to Georgia’s deep-south climate. “The bright yellow, blue-black and red spiders’ golden webs will be all over power lines, in trees around town and even on your front porch come summer,” reports a press release from the University of Georgia, the research home of a new study on the spiders' hardiness. We call it freaky, and even the people who came up with the spider’s “Joro” nickname in its native Japan must’ve agreed.

Don't Freak Out About the Giant Spiders That Will Drop From the Sky This Summer (unknown)

Their size, venomousness, and ability to rain from the sky have all been highly exaggerated.

The recent fuss was sparked by a study from researchers at the University of Georgia, where they calculated that the joro spider should be able to withstand cold temperatures. They’re just spiders, and they just want to eat bugs. Reports have compared the spider’s size to a child’s hand, or to an adult’s palm. These spiders are bigger than what you’re probably used to if you live in the northeast, but they’re not tarantula-sized or anything. To read the headlines from the last few days, you would think the entire eastern seaboard is about to become the setting of a horror movie. Remember, spiders eat bugs and creatures smaller than themselves, and the venom is what they use liquify and gulp down their prey’s insides.