Giant Spider Web Envelops Texas Park

(AP)  Entomologists are debating the origin and rarity of a sprawling spider web that blankets several trees, shrubs and the ground along a 200-yard stretch of trail in a North Texas park.

Officials at Lake Tawakoni State Park say the massive mosquito trap is a big attraction for some visitors, while others will not go anywhere near it.

"At first, it was so white it looked like fairyland," said Donna Garde, superintendent of the park about 45 miles east of Dallas. "Now it's filled with so many mosquitoes that it's turned a little brown. There are times you can literally hear the screech of millions of mosquitoes caught in those webs."

As creepy as it is, it's not the work of one giant spider, but a community of thousands. No one knows exactly why the spiders joined forces, but it's a surprising level of cooperation among the eight-legged engineers that has even insect experts scratching their heads, reports Russ Mitchell, co-anchor of CBS News' The Early Show.

"I think its just one of those freak occurrences, amazing things that nature does to wake us up," Garde tells CBS News.

Spider experts say the web may have been constructed by social cobweb spiders, which work together, or could be the result of a mass dispersal in which the arachnids spin webs to spread out from one another.

"I've been hearing from entomologists from Ohio, Kansas, British Columbia - all over the place," said Mike Quinn, an invertebrate biologist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department who first posted photos online.

Herbert A. "Joe" Pase, a Texas Forest Service entomologist, said the massive web is very unusual.

"From what I'm hearing it could be a once-in-a-lifetime event," he said.

But John Jackman, a professor and extension entomologist for Texas A&M University, said he hears reports of similar webs every couple of years.

"There are a lot of folks that don't realize spiders do that," said Jackman, author of "A Field Guide to the Spiders and Scorpions of Texas."

"Until we get some samples sent to us, we really won't know what species of spider we're talking about," Jackman said.

Garde invited the entomologists out to the park to get a firsthand look at the giant web.

"Somebody needs to come out that's an expert. I would love to see some entomology intern come out and study this," she said.

Park rangers said they expect the web to last until fall, when the spiders will start dying off.

[john_allman]

And yet I.T. industry employers still keep moaning that there''s a "skills shortage" of "web developers"?

John(dot)Allman(at)thatfund.org

[guerlane-2009]

Hey TiJon got news for you.

The biggest bloodsucker of tax dollars right now is George W. Bush. He''s able to get away with it because people like you are overly obsessed with whatever the media and conservative groups tell them to be obsessed about.

Do we need immigration reform - Yes, we do. Is this more important than getting out of the cash sinkhole that is Iraq - Not even close.

[jboxton]

Shoot..when there''s coons on the back porch mama just brushes ''em off with a broom

[moosegal]

I have been looking at this strange event from a few angles and although I am not an expert, I have to wonder if this has something to do with the mosquitoes, the sprays to stop the spread of west nile virus and it maybe the mosquitoes having come in contact with the sprays. Is it possible that the chemically infected mosquito could pose a threat to the spider population? If there is a risk of the spiders extinction in that area, is it possible that mother nature provided them with a sixth sense about the danger and the natural instinct on how to fix it? Has any of the mosquitoes or spiders been tested for chemical exposure? So many questions ...

[ov442]

they also enter your mouth at night while youre sleeping and you accidentally swallow them, or they sit in your shoe and bite your foot when you put it back on, or hide in your curtain an swooop down on you and attack when you go to open the window. Or they just crawl around on you and give you to heebiejeebies.

[suebnampa]

These little creatures are going to go where the food is, and it appears that there is a cornucopia of insects in that part of the park for them to feast on.

[hhusted]

Spiders may be ugly and some fear them, but spiders are actually mens best friend because they kill all those insects that we don''t like and that could harm us.

[newquest--2008]

Gather up the web. Its stronger and lighter than steel and can be made into a wonderful sweater for the fall which would double as body armour.

[abbe91]

When I find a spider in my house, I just get a piece
carton, get the spider on it and gently take it outside. When I find a fly in my house, I kill it.

[lucious9]

It''s global warming; it''s Bush''s Fault