Brilliant venomous joro spider not likely to fly to Quebec, brilliant invasive lanternfly is coming
CTV
Recent concern about a flying, yellow, invasive spider the size of a human hand entering Quebec is unfounded, according to experts in the field, while a brilliant, spotted insect is much greater concern.
Recent concern about a flying, yellow, invasive spider the size of a human hand entering Quebec is unfounded, according to experts in the field, while a pretty, spotted moth is much greater concern.
Joro spiders (Trichonephila clavata) are not native to North America and are spreading in the southern United States. However, the species native to Asia is not likely to arrive in Canada anytime soon.
However, the same can not be said for the invasive spotted lanternfly.
"It's pretty much all over the United States now," said Andre Philippe Drapeau Picard, an entomological information officer at the Montreal Insectarium. "The federal authorities are looking at this particular species because it's a question of time because it gets before it gets here."
The lanternflies, Drapeau Picard said, suck the sap from different plants, including grape vines, causing massive distress for wine growers.
Recent distress about the large brilliant joro spiders, however, is misplaced.
Drapeau Picard explained that a 2023 Royal Entomological Society study showed that suitable joro spider habitats exist in most parts of the eastern United States and some southern regions of Ontario and Quebec.
