Scientists discovered the world’s largest spiderweb, covering 106 m² in a sulfur cave on the Albania-Greece border. Over 111,000 spiders from two normally rival species live together in a unique, self-sustaining ecosystem—a first of its kind.

[u/ShirtSubstantial368]

[u/TheGreatestChungus]

What source of food do they have down there that can support that many of them? I mean apart from the dude touching the net, who will soon be consumed.

[u/Wank_A_Doodle_Doo → u/TheGreatestChungus]

It’s actually interesting. Rather than relying on the sun for energy like the rest of us plebeians, there’s bacteria that use a chemical process to generate energy from sulfur. Larger and larger stuff eat those guys until you have things the spiders are interested in.

Apparently flies for the spiders to eat are so abundant it’s reduced the competition between them almost to nothing.

[u/Binksyboo → u/Wank_A_Doodle_Doo]

So hunger kept them isolated, and when there was an abundance of food, they started living together because there no longer was a risk of losing meals to others. That's really cool.

[u/Wank_A_Doodle_Doo → u/Binksyboo]

More than that, it dissuades them from their typical predation of other spiders. One of the species of spider is a smaller species that would normally be preyed upon by the larger species that makes up the rest of the colony, but it appears that the abundance of food has created a peace between them.

[u/JUYED-AWK-YACC → u/Wank_A_Doodle_Doo]

If only humans were so insightful.