Mysterious spiders invaded Europe

They are black, nearly 20 cm large and congregate on the wall: An unprecedented invasion of a spider in Germany, Austria and Switzerland is astonishing many experts. No one knows where they come from, and more and more.

Right in the middle of Europe, a frightening thing is happening - at least according to the feelings of those who are afraid of insects: A mysterious new spider is spreading rapidly in the Netherlands and Germany. They also spread to Austria and Switzerland. These animals have a stride length of up to 18 cm, gathered in groups of up to hundreds or even thousands of children on the wall, making those who come near them to be afraid.

"The whole movement, " Jochen Martens zoologist professor describes the protective behavior of these 8-legged animals. " Their bodies bounce up and down between the black legs, the more excited they are, the faster they jump ." Their goal is to fade away from the eyes of the enemy who wants to eat meat.

Exactly these animals are not spiders but just close relatives to spiders . Together with scorpions, mites and spiders they belong to the Spider Class, also known as the Spider Class (Arachnida), and are completely non-toxic as Mr. Martens asserts.

For weeks, a handful of experts and amateurs who have seen this secret immigrant group are discussing the strange creature with an increasing anxiety in Internet forums.

Or Wijnhoven (Netherlands) is considered the first to discover them in Europe. The first group appeared near the city of Niwegen Netherlands. Currently, the black-tailed long-legged animals, unusual white-legged joints, and a hard-sheen blue shell " are reported to spread relatively extensively ."

However, biologists are still obscure about their origins. " This species is nowhere ," the University of Mainz professor said sadly: " After all, we are still fumbling in the darkness ."

So far people only know that: In the daytime they sleep in groups together, prefer to be in the dark corners of the walls, the walls are flat or the roof of the house protrudes. At night they are separated from the hunt . "Because they are so slender, they only eat other slender ones like flies, mosquitoes . or other spiders," an expert said.

" What's interesting is that we can see with our own eyes how a species brought from outside has spread ," said zoology professor Martens. However, he was also concerned that the invasion of this alien species would harm native species, " if not a disaster ".