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PHOTOGRAPH BY MALCOLM FAIRMAN, ALAMY
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We don’t want to alarm you. Sure, there are invasive spiders that grow up to four inches long that have showed up in the southeast United States. Yes, experiments show that even freezing temperatures do not appear to stop the jorō spider’s march, if it were to spread further. It already has been spotted in Georgia, the Carolinas, parts of Tennessee, and Oklahoma.
But, dear readers, these bright-colored, long-legged arachnid with big webs do not pose a threat to you. Their jaws don’t puncture skin, and they mainly hang by their webs, waiting for prey to come its way, Nat Geo reports. (Pictured above, a female jorō spider in its yellow-tinted web.)
How did they end up in Georgia from Asia? Why are they spreading? When’s the movie? Carrie Arnold has the full story with answers to all but that last question here.
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