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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsOh hell no! Millions of spiders just rained from the sky in Australia
House in Wagga Wagga, Australia.
Millions of tiny spiders recently fell from the sky in Australia, alarming residents whose properties were suddenly covered with not only the creepy critters, but also mounds of their silky threads. But that's not where the frightful news ends: Experts say that such arachnid rains aren't as uncommon as you might think.
This month's spider downpour in the country's Southern Tablelands region is just the most recent example of a phenomenon commonly known as "spider rain" or, in some circles, "angel hair," because of the silky, hairlike threads the spiders leave behind. Ian Watson, who lives in the region affected by the spooky shower, took to Facebook to describe what this strange "weather" looks like, according to the Goulburn Post.
"Anyone else experiencing this "Angel Hair" or maybe aka millions of spiders falling from the sky right now? I'm 10 minutes out of town, and you can clearly see hundreds of little spiders floating along with their webs and my home is covered in them. Someone call a scientist!" Watson wrote on the Goulburn Community Forum Facebook page. [Fishy Rain to Fire Whirlwinds: The World's Weirdest Weather]
So, here at Live Science, call a scientist (or two) is exactly what we did. Rick Vetter, a retired arachnologist at the University of California, Riverside, said Watson and his neighbors likely saw a form of spider transportation known as ballooning.
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Read more: http://www.livescience.com/50856-spider-rain-explained.html#ixzz3aZtDlE8t
That's not snow. It's spider silk.
A spider or two I can handle. This.... Get the flamethrower!
Lars39
(26,093 posts)Before I even got to your comment about a flamethrower I was saying, "Burn it! Burn it with fire!".
Inkfreak
(1,695 posts)From snakes to spiders to Fosters beer, Australia sounds like the worst place in the world, to me....cute lil kuala aside. Nope, don't evah wanna go!!!
DeadLetterOffice
(1,352 posts)I'd be dead, not from the spiders themselves, but from the heart attack they gave me when thousands fell on my head.
I'm sure Australia is lovely if you're not a total spider-phobe. Really. But no freakin' way will I ever go there.
(Also -- the cute koala's apparently are infected with chlamydia... go figure)
SwissTony
(2,560 posts)and remember, kangaroos and koalas are what pass for cuddly in Australia.
Graphic warning: contains image of Vegemite.
Violet_Crumble
(35,954 posts)I got stung holidaying in Manly when I was young. I wouldn't go near the surf for a few years after that....
Inkfreak
(1,695 posts)Violet_Crumble
(35,954 posts)I went through two cans when an explosion of baby spiders happened in my spare room when I squashed a mummy spider a while back. It was like there was thousands of them and I did jump around screaming while I sprayed the room and committed spider genocide. But folk in Goulburn should have been thinking like I was and being very grateful they weren't Huntsmen, which seem to only like hiding in my car and crawling out from their hiding places while I'm driving...urgh...
Anyway, I'm glad the weather and the wind deposited those flocks of spiders in Goulburn and not here coz I'm less than an hour from there...
SwissTony
(2,560 posts)I had a pet one years ago.
Violet_Crumble
(35,954 posts)I still shudder thinking about it. And the fact that when I kill one, the entire extended spider family turns up over the next few weeks looking for revenge. I'm pretty sure spiders are strategic creatures and plan their appearances to cause the most panic and fear possible!
Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)and they're fast. Fast Spiders. Two words that should not go together. I'm no Aussie but even I know that ain't good!
Glassunion
(10,201 posts)Vinca
(50,168 posts)pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)Nuclear Unicorn
(19,497 posts)A Little Weird
(1,754 posts)Even in my worst spider nightmare I had never come up with something like this. That this is a real phenomenon makes me never want to go outside again.
Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)Maybe nuclear Armageddon is not such a bad thing after all.
global1
(25,166 posts)Should we watch for others?
PADemD
(4,482 posts)Heaven's Breath: A Natural History of the Wind by Lyall Watson
http://www.amazon.com/Heavens-Breath-Natural-History-Wind/dp/B000VIRBEO/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=
All kinds of tiny critters travel on the wind. It made me think that I need to be cautious while walking outside.
mn9driver
(4,412 posts)Javaman
(62,439 posts)but then again, putting it out would be another story.