The sky of southeastern Brazil has previously been invaded by spiders suspended in the air. Arachnids have formed a huge web invisible to humans and biologists explain that this phenomenon is due to the arrival of humid heat in this region.
Summer in southeastern Brazil brought high temperatures and some octopod insects were ready to benefit from it. Residents of the state of Minas Gerais have spoken of a “spider rain”, a phenomenon that manifests itself in hot and humid weather.
The video shared on social networks shows that hundreds of spiders appear to be suspended in the air forming a “dome” made put of web.
Joao Pedro Martinelli Fonseca, who filmed one of the most shared videos, was going with his parents towards his grandparents’ farm located 155 miles from Sao Paulo when he saw the sky filled with black dots.
He confessed that he was “stunned and scared” especially when a spider fell into the car through an open window.
Federal University of Minas Gerais biology professor Adalberto dos Santos explains that this species, parawixia bistriata, is a fairly rare “social” spider. Its limbs can form a web so thin that it becomes invisible to humans. This gives the illusion that spiders are floating in the air.
During the day, spiders nest in the greenery and only emerge in the evening to build a huge web covering the sky in search of prey. A canvas can extend over 13 feet.
Seeing the sky full of spiders can be overwhelming, but people have nothing to fear, Adalberto dos Santos asserted. The venom of this species is not dangerous for humans. Its bite causes a little more inconvenience than that of a red ant.
The same phenomenon was recorded in 2013 when residents of Santo Antônio da Platina, in southern Brazil, noticed “a rain of spiders” between electrical poles.
