Watch Baby Spiders Emerge From Mysterious 'Silkhenge' Structures
The first video ever filmed of the odd arachnid's "birth" may provide clues as to what species it is—and why it builds silky towers.
In the sticky jungles of South America, a mysterious spider crafts towers out of silk—confounding scientists with its intricate creations.
Comprising a silky spire surrounded by a circular picket fence, the structures are sometimes called "Silkhenges" because of their building material and the abiding mystery of their origin: Not only are the clever spiders still unidentified, no one has ever seen the arachnids actually make these works of art. (See 10 beautiful photos that will make you love spiders.)
Now, a new video of spiderlings hatching from one of the towers collected in Ecuador's Yasuní National Park might provide some clues about these spiders' secret lives.
“The video gives us more puzzle pieces to overall solving this thing,” says
