Silks in the air

Lovely clear blue skies have made us alert to a very strange occurrence: there are long spider silks trailing everywhere in the air! We've found them draped over sign posts, tree branches, buildings, but most amazing of all is when we'd look up and see long trails of threads drifting quietly along.

Spider silks en mass? I'd never heard of it before, let alone seen it. We probably haven't had the right conditions to see this so clearly in the past, but it's been happening the last few days.

I phoned my girlfriend this morning, and our conversation lead to her saying that she'd noticed them too. Then the question was asked, "What type of spider is it?" And another, "Where have they come from?"

Naturally, I couldn't resist the investigation, and here's what I found: a rare airborne migration has been reported in Tasmania. Could it be the same thing we're experiencing in Victoria? This article is a very informative read.

Another article from England shows a picture not unlike scenes around our area.

Well, learning about spiders ballooning was all new to me until now. I love how observation brings about the questions to help us learn more. (smile!)

A 30 second You Tube showing a spider getting it's silks ready to take off:




Part 1 of 5 documentary (5 mins):