Large spider webs have formed near Australian towns recently hit by floods, stretching across trees and landscapes.
The ‘gossamer-like’ veils appeared after several days of heavy rain and in one area in Victoria’s Gippsland region a spider web covered more than 1km along a road.
The veils are formed by a survival tactic known as “ballooning”, where spiders throw out silk to climb to higher ground, according to experts.
Dr Ken Walker, a senior insects curator from Museums Victoria, said: “Ground-dwelling spiders need to get off the ground very quickly.
“The silk snakes up and catches onto vegetation and they can escape.”
This phenomenon led to the large “gossamer” sheets covering land between the towns of Sale and Longford, reported the BBC.
Local councillor Carolyn Crossley said she had seen the effect before, but not at such a large scale.
She told BBC News: “It wasn't scary - it was beautiful. Everything was just shrouded in this beautiful gossamer spiderweb, all over the trees and fences.”
“The sun was going down at the time and the light was beautiful, just to see it billowing, this wave going across the landscape.”
“The fact that it didn't separate - it was like these spiders had coordinated to make this incredible landscape art installation or something.”
Another resident, Amanda Traeger, told the BBC her family initially mistook the webs for netting along the side of the road.
“I've seen it before but nothing as much as this,” she said.
“It was absolutely stunning.”
