The bewitching creepiness of Jerusalem's giant spider webs

A surreal phenomenon has taken hold of a Jerusalem forest. On the banks of the Nahal Soreq creek, just west of the holy city, white blankets of silk cocoon the dense vegetation.

(REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)

The architects of this gossamer kingdom are millions of long-jawed spiders with an unusually large food supply. A nearby treatment plant feeds its nutrient-rich sewage into the Soreq creek, which encourages a proliferation of mosquitoes. The fingertip-sized arachnids then feast on these mosquitoes and likewise reproduce on an unusually massive scale.

Long-jawed spiders are found all over the world, often by the banks of lakes and rivers. But the Soreq's monumental cobwebs are still rare, particularly in the Middle East.

"It's an exceptional case," one doctoral student at Hebrew University's Arachnid Collection told Reuters.

But, according to Reuters, the haunting marvel won't last long. As winter creeps in, the cold temperatures will wipe out a large swath of the mosquito population, depriving the eight-legged master weavers of a steady food source.

Below, take in this creepy city of silk before it's gone:

(REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)