Why did the world’s largest famous spider’s web surprise this scientist?

Srban Sarbu thought he had seen it all – until he stepped into a dark cave that straddles the border between Albania and Greece.

In what is called the Sulfur Cave, Sarbu and a team of researchers discovered a thriving ecosystem, home to more than 111,000 spiders entangled in the world’s largest spider web.

Sarbu, a scientist who studied the caves, said, “Finding so many spiders at one place in the cave was the first surprise.” as it happens Host Nil Koksal.

“So (then), you ask yourself the question, ‘Why are they there? What, exactly, keeps them alive?'”

the search was recently published In Journal of Subterranean Biology.

He explains that caves are generally devoid of much life. The absence of light means no photosynthesis, so there are no green plants and little organic matter for animals to eat. Any cave-dwelling creatures are often small, blind and slow, he says, so they can conserve whatever energy they can.

Why are there so many spiders?

The unusual abundance of life in the cave is driven by its sulfur-rich environment, Sarbu said.

In such caves, microbes have the opportunity to live by using the chemical energy generated from the oxidation of hydrogen sulphide.

Apart from spiders, the cave is also home to other creatures such as centipedes, scorpions, beetles, bats and insect larvae of chironomid flies.

Once those flies mature, many of them become trapped in the sticky webs of adult spiders.

“They get trapped there and then the spiders come out of their little funnel holes and catch the flies and eat them,” Sarbu said.

According to Sarbu, Vishal Web is not a product of a cooperative plan. Instead, each spider builds its own web, but because the food is concentrated, the webs are built so close together that they eventually merge into one giant, layered structure.

Over time, the old webs collapsed under their own weight and new layers formed over them.

“I don’t think the spider has any intention of building a colonial web. They don’t get together and say, ‘Okay, well, let’s build a big web together and each one will help the other,'” he said.

The trap covers approximately 1,140 square feet, which is approximately the size of a small house. It hangs in a low, narrow passage within a network of limestone rooms created by the Sarantaporos River.

More Amazing Discoveries

Even more remarkable, Sarbu says, is that the researchers discovered two spider species within the giant funnel-shaped web: about 69,000 tegenaria domesticaor common house spiders, and 42,000 Prenorigone Wagons,

Typically, larger spiders prey on O.There are little spiders, “This peaceful cohabitation is unprecedented,” evolutionary biologist Lena Grinstead, who was not involved in the cave study, told The Associated Press.

“Often if you have spiders around, they will fight and eat each other,” said Grinstead, senior lecturer in zoology at the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Portsmouth in the UK.

tegenaria domestica is greater than prenerigone wagonAnd in this case, they are living together.

“We sometimes find that they become a little less aggressive if there’s abundant food,” Grinstead said.

He said darkness can impair the spiders’ vision, reducing their aggression.

“Spiders in general are not particularly good at seeing stuff… and that includes these two species,” he said.

She says the two species may cooperate slightly in web making, but are unlikely to cooperate in other behaviors such as capturing prey or caring for offspring.

For Sarbu, the astonishing attention the discovery received from the public was equally impressive.

“It’s very hard to believe because I’m used to people liking dogs and cats and penguins and whales and you name it,” he said.

“Most people, when they see a spider, start screaming. And here, we have 100,000 spiders and everyone wants to learn about them – it’s hard for me to believe.”