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When She Realized What A Mysterious 'Blanket' Really Was, She Started Screaming

<div><p>If you've ever seen a field while a breeze is blowing, then you know it looks like the rippling waves of the sea. On first glance, this field is no different, but look closer. </p><p>A woman was out for a walk on April 16th when she saw something unusual in the grass at a New Zealand park. </p><p>"There was a bright glistening coming from the top of the mound. It looked almost like the hill was sparkling," <a href="http://www.livescience.com/58726-spiderwebs-cover-field.html" target="_blank">Tracey Maris said</a>. </p><p>She got out her camera and took a video of the rolling silken waves on the surface of the field, which turned out to be a giant spider web. </p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/01balloonspider.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/01balloonspider_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/01balloonspider_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/01balloonspider_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/01balloonspider_GH_content_850px.jpg 850w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/01balloonspider_GH_content_950px.jpg 950w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/01balloonspider_GH_content_1050px.jpg 1050w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/01balloonspider_GH_content_1150px.jpg 1150w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/01balloonspider_GH_content_1250px.jpg 1250w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/01balloonspider_GH_content_1350px.jpg 1350w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/01balloonspider_GH_content_1450px.jpg 1450w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/01balloonspider_GH_content_1550px.jpg 1550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/01balloonspider_GH_content_1630px.jpg 1630w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center">Baby Spiders in Tennessee Spun a Massive Web<cite>National Geographic</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p>While unusual for spiders to <a href="http://www.livescience.com/58726-spiderwebs-cover-field.html" target="_blank">create a web of this size</a>, experts speculate that recent flooding resulting from Cyclone Cook caused the spiders to seek higher ground. This means many spiders collaborated to produce the massive silken web. </p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/enhanced-buzz-wide-9240-1331139721-2.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/enhanced-buzz-wide-9240-1331139721-2_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/enhanced-buzz-wide-9240-1331139721-2_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/enhanced-buzz-wide-9240-1331139721-2_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/enhanced-buzz-wide-9240-1331139721-2_GH_content_850px.jpg 850w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/enhanced-buzz-wide-9240-1331139721-2_GH_content_950px.jpg 950w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center">Spider Web Forest in Wagga Wagga, Australia<cite>Daniel Munoz / Reuters</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p>"It is impossible to tell which spider made the webs in the video," <a href="http://www.livescience.com/58726-spiderwebs-cover-field.html" target="_blank">Thomas Scheibel told Live Science</a>. "However, it is likely that all webs in the video are made by the same species "” although probably several thousands of individuals." </p><p>If that wasn't scary enough, consider that New Zealand's largest sheet spider species, <a href="http://www.livescience.com/58726-spiderwebs-cover-field.html"><em><em>Cambridgea foliata</em></em></a><em>, </em>can have a "palm-sized" leg span. Although the spiders who wove the web Maris saw were likely only a few centimeters wide, imagine discovering a spider as big as your hand! </p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/large.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/large_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/large_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/large_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/large_GH_content_850px.jpg 850w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/large_GH_content_950px.jpg 950w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>iNaturalist</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p>The New Zealand web measured <a href="http://www.livescience.com/58726-spiderwebs-cover-field.html" target="_blank">98ft by 10ft</a> and looked abandoned, but when Maris and her family looked closer, they saw something moving. Maris said she spotted thousands of "little black things on top." What did she do? "We screamed really loudly," <a href="http://www.livescience.com/58726-spiderwebs-cover-field.html" target="_blank">she said</a>.</p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/093509bec1844da6a8390f317135089a.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/093509bec1844da6a8390f317135089a_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>Spider Web in Krugersdorp</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p>Although seeing that many spiders freaked her out a little, Maris says it was a spectacular sight and realizes it's very rare. </p><p>"For me, it was being at the right place at the right time...to see a phenomenon which is rarely seen," <a href="http://www.livescience.com/58726-spiderwebs-cover-field.html" target="_blank">Maris said</a>.</p><p>Watch the full video below:</p><div><div><div><amp-youtube height="9" width="16" layout="responsive" data-videoid="A9IW0EbTF2w"></amp-youtube></div></div></div><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p><strong>What do you think of this? Do you think it's cool or horrifying? Leave a comment and don't forget to SHARE! </strong></p></div>

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