In the state of New South Wales in the southeast of Australia there was a heavy rain of spiders. Locals mistook this natural phenomenon for the end of the world.
The highest concentration of spiders falling from the sky was observed in the area of Goulburn last week. When people posted pictures on social media, people compared it to snowfall, and because of the abundance of silky cobwebs, one could find comparison with "angel hair". There were also panic forecasts of the approaching end of the world.
Scientists recalled that there is nothing unusual about spider rain: it happens all over the world, including the UK and the USA.
In 2013, spiders of impressive size fell from the sky in Brazil.
Speaking about the recent Australian "rain", arachnologists explain: every year in May (in the Southern Hemisphere this is the end of autumn) and August (respectively, the approach of spring), newborn spiders climb high into the trees, where they make peculiar parachutes from the cobweb. The wind picks them up and moves them over long distances. Many of them die on the way: they are eaten by predators, or they land in water, where they also have no chance of survival. However, since we are talking about millions of individuals, the spider population as a whole successfully conquers new territories.
However, sometimes the direction and strength of the wind does not allow spiders to fulfill the task assigned to them by evolution. So, apparently, what happened in New South Wales: the wind, having raised the spiders, suddenly abruptly changed direction and just as abruptly died down. As a result, arthropods hit the ground en masse in one area.
A similar event took place in the same region in 2012, and a similar event took place in the same region in 2012.
Lost spiders do not represent a danger to people. The most fortunate of them will find a habitat and enough food, while others will not endure natural selection. In any case, no radical changes in their behavior (for example, choosing a human dwelling instead of a forest) will not happen.
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