This superbug is spreading.<\/p>\n
A hand-sized spider from Asia that can travel by air is expanding its US web presence, penetrating deeper into the country than ever \u2014 with the potential to invade the Northeast.<\/p>\n
This golden arachnid, dubbed the Joro Spider, originally hails from East Asia<\/a> but was spotted in Georgia in 2013 after hitching a ride on a shipping container, per the Scientific American.<\/a><\/p>\n Since then, the eight-legged invader has swept across the US, rearing its fanged head in 12 states, including Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, California, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and most recently, Mississippi, the Miami Herald reported.<\/a><\/p>\n The Joro spider will hatch between May and June. Wildspaces \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n The female Joro Spider can grow as big as a human palm. David Coyle \/ Clemson University<\/p>\n There have also been sightings in Maryland<\/a> and Massachusetts<\/a>, while the species has even been forecast to take over New York<\/a> and New Jersey in the near future, although that invasion has yet to materialize.<\/p>\n However, their range is expected to grow after this spring when the arachnids hatch.<\/p>\n That\u2019s when the not-so-itsy-bitsy spiders will start \u201cballooning,\u201d during which the Joro deploys silk, parasail-like strands so they can be borne aloft by the wind, which can carry them anywhere from a few feet to across oceans, according to National Geographic.<\/a><\/p>\n The invasive species has cropped up in 12 states, and experts fear it could take over the Northeast next. Farmers\u00e2 Almanac<\/p>\n Denoted by their bright yellow body with blue stripes and red markings, the female Joro spider can grow to up to 4 inches<\/a> \u2014 about as big as a human palm \u2014 while their male counterparts are about half that size and brown.<\/p>\n They reach their full size in late summer and fall when they start looking for mates. The female Joros ensnare prey, including unlucky males, using large golden or yellow-hued orb webs.<\/p>\n Perhaps most shocking is how well the species has adapted to life in US cities. <\/p>\n According to a study by the University of Georgia\u2019s Odum School of Ecology<\/a>, the species tolerates the urban cacophony better than other animals, which, along with preternatural cold tolerance, allows the critter to proliferate in Southeast towns.<\/p>\n The team tested the species\u2019 resilience by simulating prey sounds with tuning forks by the side of the road, discovering that the Joro was unaffected by traffic and other urban factors.<\/p>\n \u201cFor some reason, these spiders seem urban tolerant,\u201d noted study lead Andy Davis, adding that the webs are everywhere in the fall, including next to busy roads.<\/p>\n Joro spiders, while venomous, pose no threat to people, experts say. <\/p>\n \u201cThere have been no documented fatalities, nor any notable\u00a0medically significant bites,\u201d Jos\u00e9 R. Ram\u00edrez-Garofalo, an ecologist based on Staten Island, previously told the Daily Mail.<\/a> \u201cTaken together with their behavior (they are very reluctant to bite), and the evidence from the literature, they really pose no threat to humans or our pets.\u201d<\/p>\n Nonetheless, there is a concern that the Joro could adversely impact the environment by displacing native spider populations.<\/a><\/p>\n