World’s largest web houses 110,000 spiders thriving in total darkness deep underground in a sulfuric cave between Albania and Greece: It’s the first time two spider species seen living cooperatively, and the first recorded instance of colonial web-building in what’s known as a chemoautotrophic cave.

I’ve linked to the news release in the post above. In this comment, for those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:

https://subtbiol.pensoft.net/article/162344/

From the linked article:

**World’s largest web houses 110,000 spiders thriving in total darkness**

**Deep underground in a dark, sulfuric cave on the border between Albania and Greece**, scientists have made an incredible discovery – a giant communal spider web spanning more than 100 square meters (1,000 sq ft), dense enough to resemble a living curtain, home to an estimated 110,000 spiders. In other words, an arachnophobe’s living nightmare.

An international team of European researchers, including scientists from the Czech Speleological Society, came across it while undertaking a wildlife survey in 2022, and were not just taken aback by the size of the multilayered web but what it housed: around 69,000 Tegenaria domestica and 42,000 Prinerigone vagans spiders living side by side in this massive silk structure with an estimated surface area of 106 sq m (1,141 sq ft)

**It’s the first time either species has ever been seen living cooperatively, and the first recorded instance of colonial web-building in what’s known as a chemoautotrophic cave.**

Normally, T. domestica – also known as the common house spider – is a solitary hunter that spins a private funnel web under rocks or in the corners of basements. Here, thousands of those funnels merge into a single, multilayered structure draped across the cave’s walls, where thousands of individuals live peacefully side by side in overlapping webs. What’s more, the researchers were surprised to find no evidence of the spiders’ usual cannibalistic aggression.

Even more incredible was the discovery of another species – P. vagans, a smaller, sheet-web builder – also calling this mega-structure home. In other circumstances, T. domestica would prey on the smaller spider, but here they were also co-existing in harmony.

Where is exactly between Albania and Greece is this cave so I know where to never go?

Ecosystems based on chemosynthesis fascinate me so much. Even as an arachnophobe this stuff is amazing.

What food supply could sustain a colony of that size? Is that cavern full of roaches or something? Are they eating each OTHER?

Why is there only 2 pictures.

Show me dem spiderw

Empire of spiders

Wonder if they have evolved hive mind characteristics like ants