The floods in Pakistan devastated not only the human population of that country, but much of its fauna. Many spiders survived only by crowding into trees, producing pictures like those you see above. Duncan Geere of Wired UK explains:
With more than a fifth of the country submerged, millions of spiders climbed into trees to escape the rising floodwaters. The water took so long to recede, the trees became covered in a cocoon of spiderwebs. The result is an eerie, alien panorama, with any vegetation covered in a thick mass of webbing. (You can see images from the region in the gallery linked below.)
However, the unusual phenomenon may be a blessing in disguise. Britain’s department for international development reports that areas where the spiders have scaled the trees have seen far fewer malaria-spreading mosquitos than might be expected, given the prevalence of stagnant, standing water.
Article and Gallery via Geekosystem | Photo: UK Department for International Development
Previously: Giant Spider Web
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Spidertree, spidertree, does whatever a spidertree does...
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whoever wrote this article has no idea what theyre talking about. those arent giant spider webs; theyre caterpillars. i tried to follow the source, but it led me to a dead end. we have them in georgia all the time. its a family of caterpillars who build their nests in trees and use the webs for body warmth among other things. i think it helps them preserve heat by like 70% if i recall correctly..
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Communities of spiders with a permanent web are common in the SF Bay Area. (No, it's not a joke.)
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Fascinating, especially the curbing on malaria-carrying mosquitos!
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They may be spider webs but they look more like gypsy moth webs to me. Get enough of them on a tree and the larvae will eat every leaf and kill the tree.
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