In 2012, record rains in the same Australian region spurred a mass ballooning event. In that case, ballooning allowed the spiders "to move out of places where they'd surely be drowned," Robert Matthews, a professor emeritus of entomology at the University of Georgia, said of that event.
Residents in a rural area of southern Minas Gerais state have reported skies “raining spiders”, a phenomenon which experts say is typical in the region during hot, humid weather. Photos and videos shared on social media show hundreds of spiders hanging in the sky.
“Spider rain” happens when large groups of arachnids migrate all at once, using a technique called “ballooning.” According to a 2001 study in the Journal of Arachnology, the spiders will spin out dozens of silk strands at once so that they fan out and form a triangular parachute, allowing the clever critters to catch a ...
Worryingly described by entomologists and arachnologists as a “not uncommon” occurrence in certain parts of the globe, spider rain can see anywhere from a few thousand to several million spiders tumble from the sky in a given area, seemingly out of nowhere.
Funnel web spider habitat extends primarily along the east coast of Australia, with summer being peak activity season.
That is quite the sight, but picture this — millions of tiny spiders raining from the sky. While it can sound like something out of a horror movie, in Australia the transition from late summer to fall can trigger what is known to the locals as spider season.
In Australia they are only found in the southeastern part of the country, from South Australia to Queensland via Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania. You won't find them in the dry and arid zones. On the other hand, huntsman and wolf-spiders are found all over the country.
Rain spiders
They're brown in colour with light and dark bands on the underside of their legs. This docile spider feeds on insects and small vertebrates. Their bites cause a mild pain similar to a bee sting and may be itchy for a while.
How often does it happen? Proper blood rain, where the rain actually appears red, is relatively rare because you'd need red dust/particles in fairly high concentrations in the rain. Documented cases are few and far between.
A large species of tarantula native to the east coast region of Australia, the whistling spider, is the largest spider in the country. As the largest spider in Australia, whistling spiders can grow a leg span of up to 16 cm (6.2 inches) and a body size of around 6 cm (2.3 inches).
“It's probably because of the urban heat-island effect and prey availability,” says Lowe. “Most invertebrates will grow to larger sizes if they are warmer. They are very sensitive to temperatures.” Urbanisation probably benefits these spiders in several ways, she says.
Africa. Millions upon millions of wildlife species call Africa home, and it is no different with spiders. Comprising of different climates and landscapes, just like Australia (except 3x larger), Africa sees some of the world's most venomous spiders.
Filmed in Minas Gerais in southern Brazil, these spiders are Parawixia bistriata, a rare 'social' spider that works together to build giant, fine webs up high. And contrary to how it might look, don't worry, they're not actually raining down from above.
Spiders instinctively know to find shelter as it gets colder, such as leaves or inside crevices in tree bark. Those small, sheltered places, combined with their antifreeze, keeps them alive until spring.
The lluvia de peces ( lit. 'rain of fish'), also known as aguacero de pescado ( lit. 'downpour of fish'), is a phenomenon that has been occurring yearly for more than a century in Yoro, Honduras, in which fish are said to fall from the sky. It occurs up to four times in a year.
They are hunted by Pompilid wasps, which sting them, causing paralysis. The spider is then dragged off to become food for the wasp's egg when it hatches. Rain spiders are often confused with their fatter and hairier cousins, baboon spiders.
It has a body length of 15–36 mm and a leg span of up to 110mm. The species was first described by Ludwig Carl Christian Koch in 1875. Its preferred habitat is scrubland and savannah woodland. Spiders in the genus Palystes are commonly called rain spiders, or lizard-eating spiders.
They also do not like being outside in the rain and are seen as a sign of approaching rainfall. They sleep during the day but cannot close their eyes.
There have been no deaths in Australia from a confirmed spider bite since 1979. An effective antivenom for Redback Spiders was introduced in 1956, and one for funnel-web spiders in 1980. These are the only two spiders that have caused deaths in Australia in the past.
As common as spiders are in Australia and how essential it is for the environment, no one still likes to see them in their home. With over 2400 different species in Australia, you are most likely to see any one of these eight-legged creatures in your lifetime.
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The 'something' varied – claret, brandy, whatever alcoholic item was available. The folklore about this is that the shot was the spider that followed the fly (it is reminiscent of the rhyme about the old lady who swallowed the fly – why oh why did she swallow a fly?)
An estimated 5 per cent of Australians have arachnophobia, but there are plenty of others happy to get close to the creepy crawlies. "People find it thrilling," said Catherine Timbrell, the producer of a major exhibition on spiders opening on Saturday at the Australian Museum.
The Huntsman Spider
Low Risk and Non-toxic to humans. Non-aggressive. The name Huntsman is derived from their speed and agility when hunting prey. (Which has been known to be mice and small birds as well as other insects like cockroaches).
Australia and Antarctica finally broke apart around 100 million years ago. Today, venomous snakes are found in all of these places – apart from Antarctica, where it is too cold for them to live. On the original combined land mass, it is thought that there was a population of ancestral snakes that was venomous.