KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A huge venomous bright yellow spider that migrated to the United States has captured plenty of social media attention lately.
Although the Joro spider looks like something straight out of a horror book—the arachnid isn't nearly as scary as it appears.
"Joro spiders are very big spiders. I think that's why they are getting so much media attention," University of Tennessee Professor and Extension Urban Entomologist Karen Vail said. "They're quite striking to see. Adult females in the late summer and early fall make these huge, huge webs that could be meters wide. So, they get a lot of attention."
The spider, native to Asia, was first found in northern Georgia in 2014. It's suspected that Joro's caught a ride on some cargo and acclimated well to the climate.
It's now been spotted in multiple states including southeast Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Oklahoma and even Maryland.
Vail confirmed that the spiders are venomous, however, data shows that they aren't dangerous to humans and are incredibly shy.
"They're just not aggressive towards us. The Joro might win the 'shyest spider of the year' award," Vail said.
The Joro has migrated to different states not only because of cargo, but also because of its spiderlings' ability to "fly."
"Small spiderlings can release silk, and it can catch the wind. Between the wind and electrical currents on the earth, it can be distributed miles away from where it originated," Vail said. "But, that's a tiny, tiny spiderling—maybe the size of a sesame seed. If you read media reports, you think that the big adult female is flying through the sky. That's just not happening."
Serving as a novelty Halloween decoration, you may spot the Joro's massive web around September and October. The webs can be so strong and large that Cardinals have been spotted perching on them, according to Vail.
The good news is that the Joro's don't make indoor webs. If you spot one outside your home and it bothers you, just take a broom and knock down the spider and its web as long as you can reach it.
If you spot a Joro, Vail recommends using the INaturalist—a website that allows citizen scientists to record their observations of the spider.
"If folks want to help us trace where the spider is occurring, they can go to that website," Vail said.