Nightmare as hundreds of spiders “rain” from the sky
Arachnophobes look away, because a video posted to Facebook shows every person’s worst nightmare as Brazil experienced a strange phenomenon of spiders raining from the sky.
The footage shows spiders coming down in droves at Espirito Santo do Dourado, with locals describing the event as the sky “raining with spiders”.
While the eight-legged insects appear to be falling from above, they are actually moving with the help of a huge web, and according to experts, spiders create canopies during hot and humid climates so they can share one giant web.
João Pedro Martinelli Fonseca, who is the man behind the camera, said that he noticed the sensation at his grandparent’s farm and told local newspapers that he was “stunned and scared”.
Spiders can reportedly travel hundreds of kilometres using a ballooning method.
Ballooning occurs when spiders detect electric fields under natural atmospheric conditions. It is the electric fields that cause the arachnid’s strange behaviour.
Spiders are able to become airborne through the technique, as they release fine silk lines that once caught in the breeze, lift the spider up in the air.