Webs of tens of thousands of arachnids combine to form thick netting above trees in north-western Tasmania in ‘mass ballooning event’

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Deluged homeowners in Tasmania’s north-west are not the only residents of the waterlogged area to seek higher ground.

Vast translucent covers have formed above trees in towns such as Westbury in the wake of storms and the state’s worst floods in 40 years.

Graham Milledge, the collection manager in arachnology at the Australian Museum, said the “mass ballooning event” was the result of tens of thousands of spiders converging on what little dry spots remain in parts of the region – their webs combining to form a thick netting.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest ‘While taking these photos my shoes, legs and arms became covered in webs,’ said Westbury resident Ken Puccetti

The spiders shoot their webs into the air, hoping wind will catch and pull them to higher ground, allowing them to scramble to safety. “It’s a way of dispersing – their way of flying, if you like,” he said.

“Spiders are the major insect predator in the environment and events like this show people just how many spiders there are out there.”

Ballooning spiders “rained” from the sky and blanketed Goulburn, New South Wales, last year after similarly heavy rains.

Photographs of the Westbury webs were taken by a local resident, Ken Puccetti. He told Guardian Australia “the plague” had been seen in an area covering about 800 metres and that “while taking these photos my shoes, legs and arms became covered in webs and I had to brush a number of small spiders off”.