14 DAY TRIAL // Just the other day, people living in the town of Goulburn in New South Wales, Australia, woke up to the rather horrific sight of millions of baby spiders falling from the sky and swiftly landing on their homes and alleyways.
That's right, it rained itsy bitsy spiders in Australia, and the most shocking thing about this freak weather event is that it wasn't even the first time it's happened.
The spiders meant no harm, really
Biologists familiar with the quirky ways of arachnids explain that it often happens that baby spiders embark on such epic journeys and end up terrifying people.
Here's how it all plays out: when weather conditions are just right, the teeny tiny arachnids produce parachute-like silk threads and let them carry them from their birthplace to some remote corner of the world, where they at long last set up camp.
Baby spiders still attached to their makeshift parachutes have until now been documented at altitudes of about 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) and even at distances of up to 1,600 kilometers (994 miles) from land, IFL Science tells us.
Thus, it would appear that, although made from silk threads, the parachutes designed by baby and sometimes even mature spiders looking to relocate are nonetheless strong and sturdy enough to carry them far, far away from their homeland.
“They can literally travel for kilometers, which is why every continent has spiders. Even in Antarctica, they regularly turn up but just die,” naturalist Martyn Robinson with the Australian Museum explained in an interview.
Folks in Goulburn did not mind the spider rain
True, the spider rain took them by surprise. Still, most residents of the small town of Goulburn weren't left terrified by it. A wee freaked out, maybe. Scared to the bone, not so much.
Then again, they really had nothing to worry about. As explained by wildlife researchers, neither of the spider species that use silk threads as parachutes to migrate is dangerous to humans.
If you think you're up for the challenge and feel like you absolutely have to know how a spider rain can transform landscapes, check out the photos below.
