“First came the spotted lanternflies, then the cicadas — and now, the spiders? The Northeast U.S. is bracing for an invasion of giant venomous spiders with 4-inch-long legs that can parachute through the air. Earlier this year, New Jersey Pest Control warned of the incoming spiders, saying Joro spiders will be "hard to miss" as females have a leg span of up to 4 inches and are known for their vibrant yellow and grey bodies.” (Via CBS News)
If you would like more context on this matter, please consider Gustavo Hormiga, the Ruth Weintraub Professor of Biology at the George Washington University. The research in the Hormiga laboratory focuses on the systematics and evolutionary biology of spiders, with emphasis on orbweavers and their close relatives (Orbiculariae).
In his lab, they tackle questions that span from species level taxonomic problems to intra and interfamilial phylogenetic relationships. They have an active fieldwork program that has taken them around the world in search of their study organisms. The most recent fieldwork has been carried out in several countries of the Neotropical region, Madagascar and Equatorial Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
If you would like to speak with Prof. Hormiga, please contact GW Senior Media Relations Specialist Cate Douglass at [email protected].
-GW-
