The Bay Area newest recent social media sensation is very fitting for October. For those beginning to roll out fake spider webs to adorn their home for Halloween, nature is working with you by dropping horrifying clouds of spider web, likely filled with young spiders seeking a new home. And of course, this is happenng in the skies above San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, and indeed the rest of the bay area. Our sister publication SFist happily reported the arrival of these lovely baby spiders floating through the air, in a process known as "ballooning," typical of younger spiders aiming to escape overcrowding and sibling competition. 

This scenario, though unsettling, should by no means incite fear, says people who - I guess - enjoy having baby spiders land on them from the skies above. According to Professor Fred Larabee, an assistant professor of biology at San Jose State University, these spiderlings do not pose any threat. Larabee, speaking to the San Francisco Chronicle, points out that multiple spider species, virtually 50,000 known to us, exhibit this behavior. As ABC7 News notes, it's indeed awe-inspiring to witness this spectacle where individual spider threads amalgamate, forming large observable clumps.

Changes in rain and climate are directly correlated to increased instances of ballooning spiders.

Though initially startling, there's an undeniable fascination accompanying the observation of these small creatures embarking on their journey, and a wave of social media posts, images, and videos documenting these parachuting arthropods, is a testament to their unintended allure.