Thousands Of Desperate Spiders Made A Massive Rolling Web In Australia

A spider web so large that it rolls like grass in the wind has popped up in Victoria, Australia, and thousands of busy spiders are to blame. The scene, which will send a chill down the spine of even the mildest arachnophobe, was recently showcased in a new video of the ensnared grasslands. The spider web spans from the ground all the way to the top of nearby trees.

The video was captured by Carolyn Crossley who originally shared it on Facebook. Reuters later shared the video, showcasing the billowing spider web placed gingerly over the Victoria grasslands like a thin, creepy blanket. Though we don't get a good look at its full scope, we do see it draped up onto and over trees near the field before the video cuts out.

The web, of course, is not a neutral object, but rather the active home of thousands of active spiders. According to Reuters, the huge web is the result of heavy rains that saturated the lower lands in the region, forcing the huge mass of spiders to move upward in search of higher, safer ground. The huge spider web was the spiders' effort to protect themselves from the wet conditions.

The heavy rains also resulted in destructive flooding last week, claiming at least one life and forcing many residents to evacuate to the nearest safe town. This isn't the first time we've seen spiders emerge to weave stunning, massive webs — back in 2015, for example, something similar happened in the Wagga Wagga countryside.

In that case, the webs were created by millions of tiny spiders, according to National Geographic, which reported that the spiders would 'rain' down from the air to the land. The spiders typically move on after a short period of time, though webs left behind may require a bit of human intervention depending on where they appear.