A massive spider web has covered the southern Brazilian town of Santo Antônio da Platina. Thousands of large spiders, identified as Anelosimus eximius, appeared to rain from the sky and the footage was captured by a 20-year-old web designer according to End Times Headlines on Feb. 9, 2013.
Erick Reis, the 20-year-old web designer who captured the footage of the massive spider web over the Brazilian town discovered the spiders as he was leaving a friend’s engagement party.
Brazilian’s news portal G1 consulted with a Brazilian biologist who identified the spiders as Anelosimus eximius. The Brazilian local spider is considered to be a “social spider” species known for its massive colonies. The spider species is also known for forming massive webs.
According to the Journal of Arachnology, the Brazilian spider species Anelosimus eximius is a very cooperative and group-living spider. Among the thousands of species of spiders, there are only about 20 species that live in social groups.
The Anelosimus eximius spider has only been studied for the past 20 years and there is still little information about the actual size of the spider. One biologist observed the size of the Anelosimus eximius to be about the size of a pencil eraser. However, it appears that much larger spiders of the Anelosimus eximius species can be found in remote areas of Brazil.
The Brazilian spider’s colony is often made up of several thousands of spiders. The massive spider webs created by the Anelosimus eximius can be found from ground level to at least 20 m up. The webs of the Brazilian spider species can range in size from tiny structures with a length of 10-25 cm and containing only one or a few spiders, to large spider webs of 2 to 3 meters or more.
Strong tornado-like winds can pick up the web, along with the thousands of spiders, carry it anywhere, and as the winds die down, it can rain spiders, as in this case.
For the Brazilian biologist, the “spider rain” over the Brazilian town was a natural phenomenon. As the YouTube footage of the raining spiders shows, the poor social spiders were misplaced along with their massive web and are desperately trying to get a hold on something.
For most everyone else, seeing a massive spider web and thousands of spiders raining down is more like a scene out of a Hitchcock movie.
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