If you think that finding a spider in the corner of your room is a terrifying experience, then you should be thankful that you don’t live in rural Victoria, Australia. Residents there are currently experiencing what can only be described as “spider frost.” If that sounds terrifying, just wait until you see it…
Does that look like frost or spider webs to you? If you said spider webs, then you’re right on the money.
Fields and forests all around rural Victoria are full of these frost-like spider webs.
So where the heck did all these webs come from? Most likely this “frost” is the result of a mass migration by baby spiders.
Many species of young spiders use a technique known as ballooning to hitch a ride on the wind to find a place to live.
Some spiders have been caught by researchers ballooning as high as 1.5 miles up. They can travel for miles like this, which is why every continent has spiders.
Yes, that even includes Antarctica. In fact, ballooning spiders turn up regularly in Antarctica, they just don’t last very long with the climate the way it is there.
Ballooning is also the reason why spiders are typically the first forms of life to arrive on newly formed volcanic islands.
While all of that might be fascinating, it doesn’t take away from the general creepiness of having everything covered in spider webs like this.
The best course of action in situations like this is to just wait it out. The spiders will disperse eventually.
(via Sydney Morning Herald)
Well, that is absolutely horrifying. I live in fear of accidentally walking through a spider web. I can’t imagine the state I would be in if this happened near my house.
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