Giant Joro spiders have invaded Alabama and are moving on to other states. The article says they’re venomous, but their fangs are small, they can’t penetrate human skin.
They’re cool looking.
It looks kind of like the spider in the Spider-Man tie-in LiMu Emu commercial (which seriously undercuts its coolness factor).
If they’re like the Nephila Pilipes, their bite is painful but they are quite good-tempered. Creepy-looking but not aggressive.
I assume you mean aggressive towards humans. Are any spiders aggressive towards humans?
All spiders are venomous. It is how they get food.
Also,
And some posts in the “Today in Nature” thread.
The Necromancer is taking shape once again and gaining strength!
My wife will never travel south of Ohio once she learns of this.
Do you have Writing Spiders there? These are no bigger than that.
Did you not read the title in the OP link? There’s a giant one that can span ALABAMA!!
We do, actually, but I had to google ‘writing spider’. I’ve always known those as ‘garden spiders’.
Joro spiders: not out hunting babies.
Dr. Dave Coyle is a normal human typing with his human hands.
I know spiders are supposed to be “good guys” and a vital part of the ecosystem. They need to do their vital work outside if my living sphere. My genetic makeup says the only GOOD spider is a DEAD spider.
~VOW
I’d say we just nuke them, but we’ve all seen how that works out. You think they are big now, just wait until they start sucking up all that radiation.
The Joro spiders are harmless to humans, and are expected to balloon up and down the East Coast:
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.
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.
From the University of Georgia website:
“People should try to learn to live with them,” he said. “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.”
“The way I see it, there’s no point in excess cruelty where it’s not needed,” added Benjamin Frick, co-author of the study and an undergraduate researcher in the School of Ecology. “You have people with saltwater guns shooting them out of the trees and things like that, and that’s really just unnecessary.”
I grew up abroad where Joro spiders were highly common out in the wild and was quite fond of them. They do have a painful bite, but only if you handle them too roughly with bare hands. They are scary looking but move about slowly, easy to catch.
Oh, damn.
Seveal months late, actually.