No outdoor adventure in Australia is complete without a unique encounter with nature. But one Aussie man got more than he signed up for when he visited the beach this week.
The outdoor enthusiast was hiking at North Head near Manly in Sydney when he was stopped in his tracks by “tonnes” of what he believed to be spiders floating mid-air. At least that’s how it looks in the images he shared on social media on Wednesday.
“Any idea what they are and are they deadly?” he asked.
Dissecting the images, which show the man looking high in the air at the collection of arachnids above him, biologist Sasha Mikheyev told Yahoo News, “these are definitely orb weavers” — most likely golden orb weavers.
The group of spiders — which, aside from having a painful bite, are mostly harmless to humans — have over 100 known species in Australia, and are known for their “suspended, sticky, wheel-shaped orb webs” according to the Australian Museum. Webs are placed in openings between trees and shrubs where insects are likely to fly.
Australia Museum said golden orb weaving spiders can sometimes trap small birds and bats in their webs. Source: Australian Museum
“You can see that there are several sizes of spiders — larger and smaller ones”, the ANU professor said describing the photos. “The larger ones are the females. On each female web there are 2-3 much smaller males waiting to mate”.
“The males will wander looking for females and then wait for an opportune time to mate, which is dangerous business for the spiders, and they often turn into snacks for the females,” he added. “The females can sometimes form aggregations — living near each other but with each spider having her own web”.
Arachnologist Dr Volker Framenau told Yahoo “these web aggregations are not uncommon when population densities are high”. “Unlike other orb-weaving spiders, such as our garden orb-weavers, the golden orb-weavers stay in their web during the day and so these are often noted by the public,” he explained.
The Aussie man stumbled upon the collection of golden orb weave spiders during a walk. Source: Reddit
Aussies amazed by spider find on beach walk
Previously, a Queensland resident told Yahoo she was “petrified” after noticing the work of a garden orb-weaver in her backyard. Attached to a branch on a large tree was a perfectly round and humongous spider web hanging all the way down to the ground, which appeared to be at least a couple of metres wide.
After sharing an image online, it attracted quite a response from Aussies who were in awe of the garden find. And once again people were quick to react to the similar sight near Manly this week.
“Orb weavers, they are super cool,” said one admiring the web design.
“These are my favourite spiders in the whole world and I wish I had more of them near me, but they like warmer weather than Melbourne. Just duck under them,” another said.
Love Australia’s weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week’s best stories.