You know, living on the West Coast has its pros and cons. Though we may be paying top dollar for a region of the United States that, in recent years, has seen some of the most devastating wildfires and drought seasons, we still have some of the best weather and places in general to live. Another great reason why the West Coast is the “Best” Coast is the lack of giant spiders!
The Joro spider, which is an Asian relative to the Golden Silk or Banana spider, first popped up in Georgia back in 2013, and since then it has been rapidly spreading across the state and the Southeast region of the United States. Scientists have come to a tentative conclusion, when compared to their cousin, that the Joro spider can and could thrive in cooler temperatures like the Northeast from experiments done to show that Joros “had a metabolism twice as high, a 77% higher heart rate in low temperatures and they survived 74% of the time in the temperatures below freezing, while the golden silk spider survival rate was only 50%. Scientists also noticed the species does well in Japan, with some regions that have climates similar to the Northeast.
Now to make things even creepier, these spiders are bright yellow and can be as big as your palm! Now the scientists have said that it is not definite that the Northeast will see the infestation come their way but that it is a possibility. All I know is that if my family and I end up going to Pennsylvania to visit my in-laws and I see one of those around, the spider will be introduced to Mr. Fire.
-Joe Hawk
