The Spider Trees of Sindh

An unexpected side-effect of the flooding in parts of Pakistan has been that millions of spiders have climbed up into the trees to escape the rising flood waters. Because of the scale of the flooding and the fact that the water has taken so long to recede, many trees have become cocooned in spiders webs.

People in this part of Sindh have never seen this phenomenon before but they also report that there are now far fewer mosquitoes than they would expect, given the amount of stagnant, standing water that is around. It is thought that the mosquitoes are getting caught in the spiders web, thus, reducing the risk of malaria.

Otherwise the news is grim – the UN’s appeal for the floods is only a quarter funded and relief supplies are in danger of running out. Nine million people have been affected and the cash is essential to help them get onto the path of recovery. Part of the problem is lack of media coverage, because Pakistan already had floods last year – what a depressing world we live in.

[h/t John Magrath]