Major weather event sees Aussie town overrun by 'rarely observed' phenomenon
Stretching kilometres into the distance was a thick layer of spider web blanketing the sodden paddocks of Bairnsdale, in Victoria's East Gippsland region. 'It was just everywhere. The way it was moving in the wind with the sun reflecting on it was awesome,' she told Yahoo News.
When she left home on Monday, Tegan had been hoping to photograph birds, but instead she turned her camera to the patchwork of webs. Intrigued by what was building them, she zoomed in and was shocked at the number of spiders scuttling about.
'I'm not usually creeped out by spiders, but after standing there for 10 minutes, I was getting the heebie-jeebies,' she said.
'I had all the windows down in my car, so I thought, oh God, I better put them up. And I brushed myself down just in case because I didn't know what kind of spiders they were.'
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Queensland Museum's curator of arachnology Dr Michael Rix, explained that while the phenomenon is 'well-known' in Australia, it is 'rarely observed'.
Known as the Gossamer effect, it occurs when huge numbers of ground-dwelling juvenile wolf spiders climb up vegetation and other structures and congregate. The structures they create are not capture webs but rather 'platform silk' designed as a retreat.
'We are unsure as to exactly why this phenomenon occurs, but in areas with large numbers of wolf spiders, it usually appears to be in response to localised flooding or inundation. In essence, the spiders are escaping being drowned, and the sheer number of individuals accounts for the visual spectacle,' he told Yahoo News.
'There is nothing to be concerned about with these mass gatherings — tiny wolf spiders like this are harmless — and they will eventually disperse and return to the ground to feed. But it is quite the sight in the meantime.'
What excites him about the behaviour is that it provides insight into just how many individual spiders populate the Australian landscape. Without them, paddocks would be overrun with insects that would destroy crops.
Museums Victoria's senior curator in entomology, Dr Ken Walker, told Yahoo News the phenomenon last occurred in eastern Victoria back in June, 2021.
While the effect appears to entirely take over a town, it is actually short-lived.
"The webs are made from the finest of spider silk, so they do not last as long, as natural wind destroys them quickly," he explained.
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Although Tegan was momentarily shocked by the incredible number of spiders, that feeling rapidly changed to astonishment.
'I was a little bit creeped out at first, but I stood there for ages. You couldn't help being awe-inspired. It was beautiful,' she said.
'It was probably floating six feet in the air. It was caught in fences, on the side of the road. It was quite amazing.'
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