World’s Largest Spiderweb Discovery Led by Hungarian Researcher

An international research team, led by Hungarian scientists, has made an extraordinary discovery on the Albanian-Greek border: the world’s largest known spiderweb was found inside a sulfurous cave.

According to a new study led by István Urák from the Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania and his colleagues, the massive structure, covering approximately 100 square meters, is an interconnected web system created by a colony of tens of thousands of spiders.

The web is astonishingly home to two species that are typically solitary and surface-dwelling: roughly 69,000 Giant house spiders and 42,000 Comb-footed spiders. This phenomenon—solitary species forming a mixed-species colony—is considered highly unusual in the scientific community.

Discovered during a 2022 expedition, the identity of the species in the gigantic web was confirmed through DNA analysis. The researchers found no movement between the cave populations and surface stocks, and genetic data suggests the local individuals have adapted to the harsh cave conditions.

The team hypothesizes that survival in the lightless environment with high hydrogen sulfide levels is secured by a large swarm of microorganism-eating mosquitos. This provided a rich food source for the spiders, which they trap using the massive web. The genetic data indicates adaptation, with the local individuals differing from their surface relatives.

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