Thousands of spiders wove this giant web because life is terrifying
Arachnophobes, you won't love this.
Thousands of spiders have created a giant web in the trees near Launceston in Tasmania, Australia, as seen in photos shot by local Ken Puccetti.
It's due to recent heavy flooding in the Launceston area, with spiders taking refuge high up from the waters, which has left trees swathed in silky webs.
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Graham Milledge, the collection manager in arachnology at the Australian Museum, explains that it's called "mass ballooning."
"A lot of spiders do it as a way of getting around, because spiders don't have wings, they can't fly, so they float around on strands of silk," he told Mashable Australia.
It's a phenomenon most common with juvenile or smaller species of spiders. They sometimes do it individually, but people often don't notice.
"Under certain environmental conditions you get these mass balloonings, in Australia it seems to be floods that trigger it, most commonly," Milledge said.
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The spiders will eventually descend when the floods disappear.
"Most of them are either ground-dwelling or living in low areas, so they'll return when it's safe to enter their habitat," he said.
In the meantime, enjoy the wonder of these massive webs -- unless, of course, you are terrified of spiders.
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