Giant 'flying' Joro spider continues to march north and is spotted in Massachusetts

A palm-sized, colorful invasive species has made its way to Massachusetts – one of which was spotted in Boston's historic Beacon Hill neighborhood.

According to WCVB, resident Joe Schifferdecker recently spotted the distinctive bright yellow bands on the spider's black legs in his neighborhood.

“It's surprising that it's in the middle of Boston on a main street, and yet this is reportedly the first sighting in all of Massachusetts,” Schifferdecker told the outlet.

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A yellow Joro spider in its web. (iStock)

At the beginning of the summer, scientists warned that the invasive species could move from the south to the northeast. The appearance of the Joro spider in Boston this week is its northernmost sighting.

The Joro spider is spreading across the United States, but it's not the invasive species we need to worry about

But spider experts say you shouldn't worry too much about the venomous East Asian arthropod, which gives the impression of “flying” through the air with its elaborate silk webs.

“In my opinion, people like the strange, fantastic and potentially dangerous,” said David Nelsen, a professor of biology at Southern Adventist University who has studied the expanding range of Joro spiders, which have roamed the United States for a decade. “It’s one of those things that ticks all the boxes for public hysteria.”

The Joro spider, a large spider from East Asia, is spotted in Johns Creek, Georgia in 2021. (AP Photo/Alex Sanz, File)

What is the Joro spider?

The Joro spider belongs to a group of spiders called orb weavers, named for their wheel-shaped webs.

They are native to East Asia and have a bright yellow and black coloring Females can be three to six inches long when stretched out and are twice as large as males.