Why Greece's Aitoliko town is making news

It’s Greek to me.
Precisely.

You mean it is actually a Greek word?
A Greek town, about 300 kilometres from Athens – and has now got a new attraction -- giant spider webs over large stretches.


All over the town?
Not that bad. The webs are covering a 300 metre stretch alongside a lagoon.

Is it man made?
No spider-men involved here. These are real spiders at work. Building their webs, and their families.

But isn’t it unnatural?
Not quite. See the spider mating season coincided with a huge growth in the mosquito population in Aitoliko. So there were lots of spiders and lots of food, so more of them were added to the population. As they built their web, they kept covering up large parts of the beach and the trees and bushes nearby.

Are the spiders also giants?
Oh no, sorry to disappoint you. These are called Tetragnatha spiders, and they build nests for mating. Slightly longish, they are also known as stretch spiders.

Is this something that happens every year?
No, but someone recalls seeing similar spider webs at Aitoliko back in 2003.

So what happens now?
Scientists are saying that the spiders are having a party. But it will be over soon and then spiders will start dying, bringing their population back to normal levels.

Oh no. You see these are mosquito eating spiders, I can sure see some use for them. Even gives me a business idea.
Err… exactly what are you thinking?

Come with me to Greece, to Aitoliko. Let’s bring some of these spiders over. We can start a mosquito control service.

Travelling By Air For The First Time? Keep This Check-List Handy

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