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Spiderwebs blanket Australian tourist stopover
Unless looking to relive a scene from Steven Spielberg's "Arachnaphobia" (1990), travelers should be wary of a visit to Wagga Wagga, Australia anytime soon. One of several towns affected by the recent floods in southeast Australia, Wagga Wagga is experiencing a curious phenomenon: thousands upon thousands of spiders looking for higher (and drier) ground are working together to weave massive webs across sticks and bushes. In some cases, the webs have grow so large they cover entire fields.
The strange spiderweb blankets were first reported by the BBC. According to the news outlet, approximately 9,000 people in Wagga Wagga been forced to evacuate due to flooding. Wagga Wagga is a popular stopover for people heading between Adelaide, Sydney or Melbourne. What would you do if you were on the road and survived a flood but were then greeted by thousands of hairy-legged spiders? Just the thought gives us the creepy crawlies.
Photos by Lukas Coch, EPA / Landov.
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 3)
Angela Mar 7th 2012 2:56PM
I love the comment, those were all great questions! I would love to see some sort of study done on this..... oh and than than put a tent and some REALLY good bug bomb on the whole city after!! As cool looking as that is , it is still creepy!
renee Mar 7th 2012 1:25PM
Bug spray...problem solved.
SoCalGrl81 Mar 7th 2012 7:03PM
Aww poor little things! Amazing they get together like that to be able to survive. It does creep me out to see though, I'm scared of spiders. Wonder why the place is flooded?
stella Mar 7th 2012 1:36PM
cannot believe they are not spraying areas to rid of this pesky situation - duh !
Victoria Mar 7th 2012 1:33PM
ewwww!
urbucknasty Mar 7th 2012 1:42PM
what kind of spiders are they is more important to me seeing that they hvae some of the most dangerous ones in the world
Diana Mar 7th 2012 1:41PM
I am totally scared of spiders but looking at the intricate work of these I am intrigued.They are so organized , they are survivors and they came together to work and get every spider away from danger. The picture that looks like snow on the ground really caught my eye, I am sure I will have bad dreams about this for awhile but heck I have to keep looking at them. I do not know if I would leave or maybe get over my fear and watch them and feed them. They need to eat. I am just amazed.....
Jak Mar 7th 2012 1:45PM
Its like the movie Kingdom of the Spiders.
Koz Mar 7th 2012 1:55PM
Not the was only in a barn. What I am thinking is about an entire town being covered.
Paul Mar 7th 2012 1:55PM
Silk-screen not required.
John C. Billingsley, Jr. Mar 7th 2012 2:12PM
Hasn't anyone down under herd about a Flame thrower?
Coree Mar 7th 2012 4:11PM
Oh, I would be out of there ASAP!
ThatsColt Mar 7th 2012 2:31PM
Why hasnt anyone suggested harvesting all that spider silk and maybe even grabbing up a few 100 of those spiders and create a large tank with equal conditions inside and just farm silk.....hmm... maybe i have been playing wayyyy to much minecraft... oh well the idea seem feasible enough to me. Because spider silk is an amazingly strong material and would have hundreds if not thousands of applications if it were more easily and reliably aquired. what do you think?
Uncle Darrell Mar 7th 2012 2:24PM
1970's movie "Kingdom of the Spiders" with William Shatner exactly the same senario.
Brian Mar 8th 2012 2:48AM
Look, as grossed out as you people are about spiders, they are a neccessary part of the ecosystem. Without them, the world would be over-run with everything they eat. Billions upon billions of insects, other spiders, rodents in some places. Personally, I'd rather have a spider here and there than deadly swarms of mosquitos and blackflies.
eubie doo Mar 7th 2012 3:44PM
Start doing what Cambodians do, Wash them,Season them, sautéed them in a Wok,then eat them, Yum yum! Check it out its on YouTube.
spiderphobe Mar 7th 2012 3:59PM
I am afraid of spiders, but noticed this: They say spider silk is atom-for-atom stronger than steel. If I had the capital, I would start some spider farms. These photos show us how to get the greatest output of silk from these spiders. Just flood their farm once ina while. The silk in these photos looks like it could be harvested just like cotton candy! Just stick in a cone of cardboard and start rolling...lol.
l Mar 7th 2012 4:04PM
totally creeped out.....and the weird deadly spiders in Australia.....double the creepy factor
scott Mar 7th 2012 4:18PM
I thought they were exaggerating until i saw the pics.... Holy crap!
Thomas Mar 7th 2012 5:44PM
Kill it with fire!