Reports of 8-inch spiders parachuting into neighborhoods have raised concerns in the northeast, including Upstate New York. However, entomologists clarify that these spiders are not airborne and will take about ten years to reach our region naturally.
Dr. Linda S. Raynor from Cornell University explained that while these Joro spiders, originally from Asia, will eventually arrive, they won’t appear this summer. The spiders, discovered in Georgia eleven years ago, spread to neighboring states but will naturally take a decade to reach Upstate New York.
The Joro spiders use a “ballooning” method to travel, but they don’t fly. Despite their size and appearance, they are not dangerous unless handled directly. Dr. Raynor assures that while the spiders are venomous, they pose no real threat to humans.
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