A huge invasive spider that invaded Georgia from East Asia could soon take over most of the U.S. East Coast, a new study has revealed.
New research, published Feb. 17 in the journal Physiological Entomology, suggests that the palm-sized Joro spider, which swarmed North Georgia by the millions last September, has a special resilience to the cold.
Since the spider hitchhiked its way to the northeast of Atlanta, Georgia, inside a shipping container in 2014, its numbers and range have expanded steadily across Georgia, culminating in an astonishing population boom last year that saw millions of the arachnids drape porches, power lines, mailboxes and vegetable patches across more than 25 state counties with webs as thick as 10 feet deep, Live Science previously reported.
That‘s perhaps good news, as the spiders are destined to spread far and wide across the continental U.S., researchers say. The scientists came to this conclusion after comparing the Joro spider to a close cousin, the golden silk spider, which migrated from tropical climates 160 years ago to establish an eight-legged foothold in the southern United States.
When Joro spider hatchlings emerge in the spring, they ride the wind on a strand of silk, floating across enormous distances like the baby spiders in the E.B. White novel “Charlotte‘s Web.” But the Joro won‘t just resort to its traditional means of traversal to colonize new terrain. As its accidental introduction to the U.S. shows, the spider is an expert stowaway, and it could easily arrive at a new location by riding on a car or hiding in luggage.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Stellar cast shines in North Coast Rep's well-directed 'The Homecoming''The Homecoming' is a return for North Coast Repertory Theatre, which had planned to produce the Tony Award-winning play in spring 2020 only to be waylaid by the COVID-19 shutdown
Read more »
Over 20,000 West Coast port workers refuse to load or unload Russian cargo amid Ukraine invasionAt least 20,000 port workers say they will no longer load or unload any Russian vessels or Russian cargo coming into or going out of all 29 ports up and down the West Coast.
Read more »
Man dies after being shot 14 times in East Germantown, police sayPolice say a 26-year-old was shot more than a dozen times Sunday evening in East Germantown.
Read more »
2 shot, 1 dead leaving Buffalo Wild Wings in east Harris County, deputies sayOfficials say two men were walking out of the restaurant and standing in the parking lot near their motorcycles when what they believe to be a gray Dodge pickup drove through and opened fire.
Read more »