Photo credit: Daily Star
If you have arachnophobia, then it may not be the best time to visit Brazil right now, as there is at least one area where it seemingly is raining spiders. Residents living in the inland state of Minas Gerais reported seeing thousands of these eight-legged creatures in the sky, but in actuality, they were just crawling on a giant sticky web they created to capture prey. João Pedro Martinelli Fonseca, a 14-year-old who witnessed the bizarre phenomenon while visiting family in the area, said he was “stunned and scared” by the sight, particularly when at least one spider fell to the ground. Read more to watch the video he filmed.
Professor Adalberto dos Santos of the zoology department at the Federal University of Minas Gerais said this particular species — identified as parawixia bistriata — does not have venom that would harm humans, and the giant web is simply used to gather food. Or, the massive nests could be used for mating, which often occurs in hot or humid weather, as it’s currently summer in Brazil.
“There were many more webs and spiders than you can see in the video. We’ve seen this before, always at dusk on days when it’s been really hot,” said the teen’s grandma, Jercina Martinelli.