Millions of palm-sized, flying spiders could invade the East Coast, scientists say

A new study has shown that a spider from East Asia could soon take over most of the US.

The Joro spider, which swarmed North Georgia by the millions last September, has a special resilience to the cold according to new research.

Scientists think that the bright-yellow-striped spiders could soon dominate the Eastern Seaboard.

Spiders are eating bats.

Andy Davis, a research scientist at the University of Georgia, said in a statement that people should try to live with them.

Since the spider arrived in Atlanta in a shipping container, its numbers and range have expanded across Georgia, with a population boom last year that saw millions of the arachnids drape porches, power lines, mailboxes and vegetable patches.

The Joro spider is common to China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea and is part of a group of spiders known asorb weavers because of their highly symmetrical, circular webs. The spider is said to be a beautiful woman to prey upon gullible men.

The Joro spider is stunning to look at, with a large, round, jet-black body cut across with bright yellow stripes and red markings on its underside. The venom of the Joro spider is not dangerous to humans, dogs or cats unless they are allergic, despite its fearsome appearance and standing in folklore.

Researchers say that the spiders are destined to spread far and wide across the continental U.S. The golden silk spider, which migrated from tropical climates 160 years ago to establish an eight-legged foothold in the southern United States, was compared to the Joro spider by the scientists.

The Joro spider has double the metabolism of its cousin, along with a higher heart rate and a better survival rate in cold temperatures, according to a study. Joro spiders are found in Japan, which has a very similar climate to the U.S. and sits across roughly the same latitude.

It looks like the Joros could probably survive in most of the Eastern Seaboard, which is pretty sobering.

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. The spider can easily get to a new location by hiding in luggage or riding on a car.

The potential for these spiders to be spread through people's movements is very high.

In Georgia, the Joro spider could be beneficial because it kills off mosquitos, biting flies and other invaders. The researchers say that the Joro should be left to its own devices, and that it is more likely to be a nuisance than a danger.

There is no reason to actively squash them. Don't blame the Joro spider.

It was originally published on Live Science.