A man discovers a spider grave in his newly delivered garden furniture. The community is divided between fascination and disgust.
Kassel – When you purchase new items, they are usually packaged. You remove the packaging and use the newly purchased product. But sometimes unpacking brings an unexpected and rather unpleasant surprise. It may happen that the expected item is missing, which of course leads to annoyance. But it can also happen that you come across a truly disgusting find. Now a man made a similar discovery in the garden furniture he had delivered – more precisely, a whole group of animals.
Man comes across spider grave in garden furniture and asks community for help
On one Facebook-Photo that appears on the website of the biologist Dr. Mark Benecke published several spiders that obviously do not belong to the same species. So it can’t be a family. The man describes his case and asks the social network community for help: “Last summer, while unpacking garden furniture (probably made in Asia), I found a ‘stone’ in the box. When I took it off the cardboard, there was a hole on the other side… with lots of spider legs lurking out of it.” Another man was gardening and discovered a spider with a striking white abdomen.
The “stone” turns out to be a burial place for many spiders
This was reason enough to examine the alleged stone more closely. He goes on to describe how he finally came across the spiders: “The spiders did not move and were, in my opinion, dead. I opened the clay or lime cocoon and out fell many very different (in shape and color) spiders.” Meanwhile discovered one Woman holding a large spider with a cocoon in her kitchen.
According to the buyer of the garden furniture, the spiders “were not dead for long because they still seemed fresh”. How could this situation arise?
Users are split between fascination and disgust: “Get the flamethrower”
The spider picture, that too Instagram was published, sparked different reactions from users. Many commented “Interesting” or “Unbelievable, how can that be?” However, one woman said with disgust: “That would officially be the last time I would have ordered something. Best austerity therapy!” Another added in horror; “Get the flamethrower!” People on Facebook also reacted similarly: “All I can say is that I probably would have torched the entire country after I woke up from my fear coma,” said one of the comments.
Experts clarify what the find is all about – another animal is the culprit
However, one person has a theory for solving the spider puzzle. “A species of wasp was very busy buying food that was anesthetized for its brood,” said one man. On Instagram, an expert agrees with this theory in the comments: “This is a nest of the oriental mortar wasp. The spiders are paralyzed and serve as food for their offspring. Exciting but scary animal.” Another person adds: “In my research on them, I found out that on average they stun 16.2 spiders and put them in the cocoon for their offspring. This way they are supposed to stay fresh for a very long time – but the cocoons look different.”
The oriental mortar wasp is harmless to humans
The Zurich Environmental and Health Protection Office lists the oriental mortar wasp in its pest register. The description of the animal states: “The adult wasp is 15 to 20 mm long. The black-yellow to black-red-brown colored abdomen has long stalks and makes the species unmistakable. The female builds brood cells about three centimeters in size out of clay in groups and “brings in eight to 25 live, paralyzed spiders as food for the larvae. Then it lays an egg and closes the cell with a clay lid.”
The larvae feed on the spiders until they hatch. The animal is harmless to humans and can be easily removed. How aktion-wespenschutz.de Adds, the animal is widespread in Germany and can be found almost exclusively in residential areas from May to September.
Since the spiders are only stunned and not dead, people in the comments under the photo are primarily interested in what happened to the paralyzed animals. The photographer explains: “They looked dead to me, so I made a hole in the flower bed with a shovel, put the spiders in and closed it up.” (jh)
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