‘Spider apocalypse’ hits Australia and blankets area in thousands of spooky webs

Spooky pictures of millions of spider webs blanketing whole areas of a region in Australia have left people in fear of an “apocalypse”.

Millions of spiders covered the state of Victoria in thick cobwebs after floods forced them to seek refuge on higher grounds.

The pictures were taken in East Gippsland and shared on social media with the caption: “If the floods weren’t enough, I give you, spider apocalypse”, reports MailOnline.

The images show sheets of sticky and glittering silk covering grass, shrubs and road signs.

It comes after parts of the region were closed off last week, following days of torrential rain. Thousands of people were left without electricity after power lines fell down.

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Professor Dieter Hochuli said the behaviour is not unusual for the sheetweb spiders as they seek refuge from floods

Professor Dieter Hochuli, from the University of Sydney, identified the scary creatures as sheetweb spiders and said the sight was not unusual after flooding.

He said: “They build a web that is a little bit different to the ones we’re more familiar with, like orb webs, their ones are flat and the spiders often live between two layers of webbing.

pics of webs — The pictures were shared on social media by a user who feared a ‘spider apocalypse’
(Image: hdjwiax/reddit)

“When we get these types of very heavy rains and flooding these animals who spend their lives cryptically on the ground can’t live there anymore, and do exactly what we try to do – they move to the higher ground.”

Social media users were not impressed at the sight of the “horrific’ images”, with one person commenting: “Well East Gippsland can go and get f***ed.”

Another wrote: “Truly horrific as you can’t even burn it down.”

spider webs — The cobwebs are a result of the eight-legged spiders seeking higher grounds to save themselves from the floods
(Image: hdjwiax/reddit)

Others were able to see the positive side of the bizarre situation, with one user pointing out: “Well we don’t have to worry about mozzies for a while.”

“Gonna be some fat birds,” commented another.

Residents in Gippsland have embarked on a mammoth clean up after the torrential rain finally came to a stop late last week – but weather forecasts have predicted that even more is in store at the end of this week.

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