Wolf creek: spiders spinning out of control as waters rise

PEOPLE are not the only ones trying to escape rising flood waters, spiders have also had to evacuate their homes.

In an attempt to reach safety, millions of ground-dwelling wolf spiders have covered the fields surrounding flood-stricken areas of NSW with their webs.

Web horror ... a property covered by cobwebs in Wagga. Photo: Reuters

The arachnid collection manager at the Queensland Museum, Owen Seeman, said as waters rise the eight-legged creatures climb blades of grass and let out metres of silk in the hope a gust of wind will catch the web and blow them to safety.

But the success of this ingenious escape method relies on a moderate breeze.

''What you are seeing is the result of all their failed attempts to get away,'' Dr Seeman said.

''They keep trying and trying and suddenly this entire area is coated with web.''

One spider could produce hundreds of metres of silky web in a few hours, he said.

Amber Beavis, an evolutionary geneticist and spider expert, said it was unusual to see adult spiders displaying this trait, known as ballooning.

Juvenile spiders use this technique to disperse from their birthplace, said Dr Beavis, a Churchill Fellow at the Australian National University.

Wolf spiders were typically a solitary species and did not socialise with others, she said.

''But under these extreme circumstances they obviously don't mind being around each other.''

Dr Seeman said the floods would devastate the local wolf spider population.

''A lot of these spiders aren't going to make it. It's a catastrophe for them,'' he said.

''They've been washed away, moved to other parts of the countryside or drowned.''

Farmers may experience a rise in insects that the spiders would normally eat, he said.

Read more and see fantastic photos at: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/animals/wolf-creek-spiders-spinning-out-of-control-as-waters-rise-20120307-1ukmo.html#ixzz1oWmPyB1u