Kezna Cameron let me know about something that happens in June — a Gossamer Event:
where spiders coat our wet land in cobwebs
This is when thousands of young spiderlings climb the stalks of plants to play out silk that is caught by the breeze. This allows a spider to take to the air and disperse to new areas and is known as ballooning. They really don’t need much breeze to get going.
Gossamer events are more commonly associated with some families such as Linyphiidae (money spiders).
Photos 2021 by Kezna Cameron.
Kezna says Dr Phil Sirvid from Te Papa helped her understand what was going on in this event.
