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Raining Spiders in Australia

posted by janrinok on Thursday May 21 2015, @12:54AM   Printer-friendly
from the sounds-normal-for-Aus dept.

frojack writes:

News.Com in Australia has a story and pictures of a pestilence of spiders that happens every few years when the weather is just right.

It's the strange phenomenon everyone's talking about. The unearthly sight of hundreds of gossamer white threads floating through the air and settling on fields and houses.
...
The astonishing spectacle usually occurs in May or August in Australia, when sunshine follows rainfall. It is rare because it requires an unusual weather pattern for this time of year, which is when spiders are hatching. The spiderlings are light enough to float on threads, sometimes for hundreds of kilometres at up to 20,000 feet. They have even been spotted by aircraft.

Its a migration tactic used by juvenile spiders. Spin a bit of web, and then be blown great distances, landing en masse.

The site has photos of fields covered by webs, as well the webs covered with adult spiders. An arachnophobe's worst nightmare.

 
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  • (Score: 2) by dyingtolive on Thursday May 21 2015, @01:01AM

    by dyingtolive (952) on Thursday May 21 2015, @01:01AM (#185827)

    The air literally hints strongly at spiders?

    Nice. I might grow to appreciate Australia.

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  • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday May 21 2015, @01:27AM

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Thursday May 21 2015, @01:27AM (#185835) Journal

    The air literally hints strongly at spiders?

    The hint was strong enough to inspire [poetryfoundation.org] the father of free verse.
    (by the number of them, seems like lotsa souls have come to appreciate Australia :) )

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  • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday May 21 2015, @02:45AM

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Thursday May 21 2015, @02:45AM (#185861) Journal

    Nice. I might grow to appreciate Australia.

    For an enhanced experience, you may want to try Brazil [youtube.com].
    (the brazillian spiders are in the Anelosimus eximius [wikipedia.org] and only present danger for the brazillian butterflies not related to body hair; relevancy: in Australia it'd be too expensive for you to take care of the later)

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