Giant, venomous yellow spiders invading the American East Coast may soon reach southern Canada. Here's everything you need to know about these spiders.
What are their names?
These invasive spiders are called “Guru spiders” and are native to East Asia. These species typically stay in the Southeast, but many researchers expect this species to migrate north because they are better adapted to colder climates, according to NBC News.
What do they look like?
These invasive spiders are mostly black and yellow in color and are the size of a hand.
Female Guru spiders are yellow and black, have bodies the size of a paperclip and legs that can extend up to 10cm from side to side.
Male guru spiders are smaller and brown in color.
Are they dangerous?
Researchers say Guru spiders are indeed venomous, but far from dangerous. A small portion of them may have venom capable of seriously injuring humans, Gustavo Hormiga, a biology professor at George Washington University, told NBC News.
The bite of this spider is similar to a bee sting.
Mr. Hormiga describes them as “extremely conscious” spiders. “They have no interest in biting you,” he continues.
However, you should be careful of large spider webs. Their webs can be about 1.5 meters wide for a single spider, and up to 3.5 meters wide for several females.
Where do you live?
These spiders seem to live in a wide range of conditions.
“Guru spiders seem quite content to live on a gas station pump or in a tree in the forest,” says one researcher at the University of Georgia's Odum College of Ecology.
According to Davis, these spiders do not react strongly to noise or air puffs. The absence of these reactions causes webs to be spun in surprising places, such as at traffic lights. “Living in disturbed areas like natural areas means there is nothing stopping them from living anywhere,” he says.
However, researchers don't know when Guru spiders will arrive in northeastern or southern Canada.
