Spider rain is described by entomologists and arachnologists as a "frequent occurrence" seen in some parts of the world. It represents a sudden fall from the sky of several thousand or even millions of spiders.
So what is causing this phenomenon?
It is associated with a rather interesting behavior of spiders known as "ballooning". In fact, the spider climbs to a high point and throws silk threads into the air, after which it is carried away by the wind - sometimes hundreds of kilometers.
Arachnologists point out that there may be countless spiders flying over your head right now, which, as a rule, land without much fanfare and then follow their own path. Sometimes, however, thousands or millions of spiders decide to simultaneously fly through the air - either because they are a single colony, or because weather conditions force them to do so.
Other known causes of spider rain include floods and wildfires, which can force spiders to flee in droves to escape.
As an example, consider the phenomenon observed in Pakistan in 2010 after devastating floods. Then millions of spiders made a massive "air flight" so as not to die. You might think that people were unhappy that millions of spiders fell on them from the sky in the midst of a devastating natural disaster, but this is not the case. Most citizens were grateful for this, as the spiders ate annoying mosquitoes.
In addition to keeping the sky free of disease-carrying insects, flying spiders also provide an abundant source of food for birds and other creatures. This, combined with the fact that spiders are often among the first to return to earth devastated by flooding and fire (through the same "air travel") means that spider rain is usually viewed as a beneficial phenomenon for nature, allowing these links to feed chains scatter quickly and everywhere.
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Every person, wherever he lives, can observe individual spiders floating in the air, but if you want to see spider rain - millions of spiders falling from the sky, then you need to go to Australia, because this is where this phenomenon is most common. As a resident of New South Wales states: "They fly through the sky, leaving behind flakes of cobwebs that look like snow."
Fortunately for arachnophobes, mass "air flight" is characteristic only of small species of spiders or those that were born very recently. The reason is simple: large spiders are too heavy to be carried by typical winds. So you can be sure that if you ever witness a spider rain, you will not even feel how little spiders will crawl over your body. This is a big plus because most small spiders are not able to damage human skin with their bites, even if they are very poisonous.
Thus, for the most part, spider rain is harmless (to humans). However, this phenomenon could potentially damage crops if millions of spiders land in the same place - their cobwebs will simply block the plants' access to sunlight.