Giant, invasive joro spiders spotted for first time in Pennsylvania

Intimidating looking but relatively harmless arachnids native to east Asia spread across US north-east

The invasive joro spider has been spotted for the first time in Pennsylvania.

Six of the giant, colorful spiders, which were already spreading across north-east states including New York and New Jersey, were seen in the yard of a home in Bucks county on 5 September, according to the interactive tracking system JoroWatch. A state entomologist then visited to confirm the location and identification.