Millions of Baby Spiders Create Giant Silken Blanket
The young arachnids, spotted in Tennessee, were throwing out silk to fly to new territory when wind likely grounded them, expert says.
Cloudy, with a chance of spider?
Apparently that was the forecast in Memphis, Tennessee, where millions of spiders have taken to the air and coated fields with their silk, according to local news reports.
In one area, spiders formed a nearly continuous, silken sheet that stretched for nearly half a mile. Some local homeowners lamented the arachnid invasion: “They’re just in the air, they’re flying everywhere,” local resident Debra Lewis told WMC Action News. “It’s like a horror movie.” (Also see "Millions of Spiders Rain Down on Australia—Why?")
But the spiders’ sudden appearance isn't something to be afraid of, says Todd Blackledge, a biologist and expert in spider silk at the University of Akron in Ohio.
“If you had taken the
