© Russell Watkins, U.K. Department for International Development
Webbed Trees
Webbed Trees
"Any kind of vegetation that was above ground was affected, literally every kind of tree and bush," Watkins said of the widespread spider webs.
While unusual, trees cocooned in spider webs are not unprecedented. Scientists have reported similar webs in other parts of the world, the tropics in particular. In 2007, for instance, a superintendent at Lake Tawokoni State Park in Texas discovered a giant spider web among the trees.
Watkins said he didn't know which type of spider was responsible for the tree cocoons in Sindh. But in the case of Lake Tawokoni, scientists determined that dozens of spider species were spinning the communal webs.
According to Watkins, who photographed the trees during a trip to Pakistan last December, people in Sindh said they'd never seen this phenomenon before the flooding.
of the arachnid kind perhaps?