The impressive images of a region covered by cobwebs 0:50
(CNN) --
The tiny spider crawled up the balcony -- and up and down the East Coast.
Except in this case, the spider in question isn't that small, according to Benjamin Frick, co-author of a study on the Jorō spider species published in the journal
Physiological Entomology
.
The Jorō spider, or Trichonophila
clavata
, can grow up to 10 centimeters long—the size of the palm of your hand or more—and could spread across the northeastern United States, he notes.
These spiders, with spindly legs and a conspicuous abdomen striped with black, yellow and gray, are native to Southeast Asia but spread nearly a decade ago to the southeastern United States, with its warm climate, said Frick, an ecology student from the University of Georgia in Athens.
In his research, Frick determined that the Jorō spider may exist in colder climates as well, making it possible for it to spread to the northeast.
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Jorō spiders are not a threat, and there is no data to show that they are detrimental to the environments they have moved into, according to Frick.
"In light of this, people should not embark on a genocide of spiders: the only thing that would be achieved is the unnecessary killing of a beautiful animal," he said.
Jorō spiders travel fast
No one knows exactly how the spiders originally traveled halfway around the world, but Frick suggested they probably arrived in a shipping container.
These arachnids have two modes of transportation: arachnid flight or through people.
Spider flight involves newly hatched spiders generating fine silk threads that they use as parachutes to travel with the wind, Frick explains.
Although spiders can only travel a couple of kilometers in this way, they can go much further with humans.
They can be attached to a car or shipping container to get around, he said.
Last summer, a UGA graduate student accidentally transported a Jorō to Oklahoma, Frick noted.
"The reality of the situation, however, is that for every spider we might see being transported, there are likely to be 10 more that evade detection," he said.
Listen to the music created with the help of spider webs 1:31
Poisonous, but not dangerous
Jorō spiders are venomous, meaning they can poison certain creatures such as insects for food, according to Paula Cushing, senior curator of invertebrate zoology at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, who was not involved in the study.
However, the spider's fangs are virtually incapable of breaking through human skin, Frick said.
They only bite a human or domestic animal when they are actively forced, he added.
These spiders can be considered more of a nuisance, building three-dimensional webs in open spaces like some hiking or biking trails, Cushing said.
"The biggest danger to humans is getting your face covered in precious golden silk if you walk through the web," he said in an email.
They can stay close to "home"
Although the study shows that spiders can travel farther north, some experts aren't convinced that's happening on a large scale.
"While it can handle somewhat cooler climates, I doubt it can handle the weather conditions found in the northern and western United States," Cushing said.
Jorō spiders can tolerate a brief frost, but not much longer, said Anne Danielson-Francois, an associate professor of biological sciences at the University of Michigan in Dearborn, who was also not involved in the study.
"In my opinion, I don't think they are further north of North Carolina or farther west," he said.
Spiders are good at breeding, so Southeasterners should expect to come into contact with them whether they like it or not, Frick said.
Frick predicted that, over time, the spiders will adapt to human behavior and become less annoying.
spiders
