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The giant Joro spider has arrived in Boston. Are you freaked out?

It does whatever a spider can: The Joro has apparently alighted in Beacon Hill, just in time for Halloween.

A Joro spider in its natural habitat: Beacon Hill. Joe Schifferdecker

September 26, 2024

2 minutes to read

Now that the Joro spider — the large, brightly colored invasive spider species that’s been making its way up the East Coast — has reached Massachusetts, Bostonians are likely to fall squarely into one of two camps: The camp that thinks that’s pretty cool, and the one that will never, ever leave their house again. You know who you are.

In case you’ve somehow missed the buzz about this particular arachnid — which hasn’t quite reached murder hornet levels, although they’ve certainly made some headlines — it’s native to East Asia, has bright yellow, blue, red, and black coloring, and can grow to about the size of your palm when its legs are extended. (And if you’re now imagining looking down and seeing a giant yellow and black spider in the palm of your hand, you’re welcome.)

They’re also known as “flying” spiders, although that mostly applies to when they’re young and small enough to use their webs to travel via wind and electromagnetic currents. So you’re much more likely to have a bunch of baby Joros land in your hair than you are one big one, unless you happen to be standing immediately under it and it decides that would be hilarious.

The Joro has been poking around the Eastern U.S. for a decade or so, but in the last year or two seems to be making a concerted effort to expand its territory — moving further north, for instance. Hence its arrival in the Bay State, specifically Boston’s Beacon Hill, where Cambridge photographer Joe Schifferdecker spotted one earlier this month and subjected it to its first photo shoot. The Boston Globe showed the shots to several spider experts, who were quick to confirm that, yes, the Joro had arrived.

“To my knowledge this is the farthest north it’s been seen,” David Coyle, an assistant professor of forest health and invasive species at Clemson University, told the Globe. So, lucky us.

Even though it’s clear that the Joro is not something to be especially worried about in terms of threat to life and limb — even if they bite you, it won’t affect you much more than a mosquito would — some may find it disconcerting to be sharing sidewalk space with such a daunting arachnid during their daily stroll. What’s your take? How freaked out are you about the Joro spider?

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