Overview
- The peer-reviewed study in Subterranean Biology reports a sprawling web roughly 1,140 square feet across in a narrow, permanently dark passage.
- Researchers estimate about 69,000 Tegenaria domestica and more than 42,000 Prinerigone vagans cohabit the structure despite typically solitary habits.
- The massive formation arose as thousands of closely packed funnel webs accumulated and merged over time rather than from coordinated building.
- Prey is supplied by non-biting midges that thrive on microbial biofilms produced by hydrogen sulfide–oxidizing bacteria in the sulfur-rich cave.
- The team warns the spider count could be inflated by abandoned funnels, and analyses indicate altered gut microbiomes compared with surface populations.