The rains came – and then, spreading their webs like vast fishing nets, came hordes of spiders.
The spiders who have spun these webs in many parts of the mid-Richmond district may be one of the better legacies of flooding.
An entomologist at the Alstonville tropical fruits research station, Mr W. Wright, said yesterday the spiders preying mainly on insects and were not dangerous.
He said there was generally an upsurge in insect breeding among decayed vegetable matter after heavy rain or floods.
This in turn caused a rapid build-up in the spider population.
Mr Wright said the real dangers to pastures – cut worms and army worms had not been reported in any significant numbers. They had appeared elsewhere in the State.
