Creature's 'bright yellow ball' stuns Aussie homeowner: 'What's this?'
An Aussie who found a strange yellow ball hanging above the door of his home has sparked debate online about over what the unusual object could be.
“What’s this bright yellow ball? Roof of undercover area,” the baffled homeowner asked members of an Australian-focused chat on Reddit, with an accompanying photo of a the object in question.
The serious question however, was met with a mixed bag of replies from fellow Redditors whose comments ranged from hilarious to serious.
“It's actually an infant tennis ball. Once mature it will bounce down,” one person joked, which was followed by another: “Forbidden fairy floss”.
Some more serious members of the group chimed in. “It looks like a silkworm cocoon,” one suggested.
“You’re about to be a parent to few hundred little arachnids,” someone said in half-jest, while other members warned that the it was a spider egg sac, it could have hundreds of spiders come out of it.
'It's so beautiful'
Other Redditors also expressed certainty that the yellow object was indeed from a spider, with some specifically mentioning the particular specie of arachnid it was.
“Not sure but I have seen thick yellow webbing done by orb spiders, maybe an egg sac?” commented one.
“It’s a golden orb spider web,” another Redditor replied. “It’s so beautiful.”
“That's an orb weaver egg sac, just leave it alone, they're good for the garden,” a third one confirmed.
What the experts say
Warren Bailey, director for Sydney-based ABC Pest Control, confirmed with Yahoo News Australia the bright yellow ball is indeed from an arachnid.
“It looks like a golden orb weaving spider,” Bailey confirmed upon reviewing the image, adding a caveat that this case is probably a one-off as these spiders are usually found in open forests and shrubland, but are also quite common in bushes and gardens.
While it may seem strange, the golden orb weaving spider is an arachnid specie found all over Australia and gets its name from their gold-coloured silk egg sacs.
These large arachnids, which are otherwise known by their scientific Nephila plumipes, are of low risk to humans as they are non-toxic. They also tend to be non-aggressive, which means that they seldom bite, but if they do, symptoms would include mild local pain, numbness and swelling. Occasional nausea and dizziness can also occur.
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