BOSTON (WHDH) - Beacon Hill’s newest resident has eight legs and a brightly colored abdomen.
The first Joro spider in Massachusetts was spotted on Mount Vernon Street earlier this month and was still sitting on its web Wednesday afternoon.
The invasive spiders are large, but despite how they look, they are harmless to humans.
According to Andy Davis, a research scientist at the University of Georgia, Joro spiders are originally from Japan and East Asia.
There are now millions of Joro spiders in the United States, and the population boom is not expected to slow down.
Davis called the Beacon Hill Joro spider an “early hitchhiker.”
“This one is definitely the most northern one. What we’re seeing now is the early hitchhikers — the ones that are getting rides on cars, on trucks, shipping containers.”
Beacon Hill residents said they are excited to learn about their new neighbor.
“It’s an opportunity to learn about something outside of what we typically think about in Beacon Hill. We think about the architecture and the buildings — we don’t necessarily think about the ecology, so I’m curious to learn about my new neighbor, but I hope he stays at a careful distance,” said Ali Cook.
According to Davis, Joro spiders have no more venom than a common household spider.
“There’s no stopping them, so I’ve been trying to tell people, and this is a hard sell, ‘Try to live with them, learn to live with them. Get to know them, almost,'” Davis said.
Joro spiders also will have no problem surviving a cold Boston winter, he said.
“I’m very excited. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s beautiful,” said neighbor Judy Bracken.
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