--- description: With the weather leading to more insects, there's more spider food. title: Sydney Swarming with Spiders Thanks to Warm Weather image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb0f1b7ba56dac7bb/698880762dce015c649e812a/huntsman-spider-populations-sydney-australia.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Sydney Is Swarming With Spiders Thanks to Warm Weather  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 7, 2016 3:41 PM CUT  Reports indicate the Redback Spider population, among others, has spiked in Sydney. Reports indicate the Redback Spider population, among others, has spiked in Sydney.Roland Seitre—Getty Images/Minden Pictures RM  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 7, 2016 3:41 PM CUT Arachnophobes with travel plans to Australia may want to reconsider: warm weather has led to [a surge](http://www.smh.com.au/environment/animals/arachnopolis-now-perfect-conditions-prompt-a-boom-in-sydney-redbacks-huntsmen-and-golden-orbs-20160306-gnc3bz.html "undefined") in Sydney’s spider population this season. The humidity and warmth at the start of summer this year provide ideal breeding conditions for insects such as moths, which has dramatically improved food supplies for spiders and their chances of survival. With so many more eggs reaching adulthood, there have been multiple generations of spiders this year already, the [Sydney _Morning Herald_](http://www.smh.com.au/environment/animals/arachnopolis-now-perfect-conditions-prompt-a-boom-in-sydney-redbacks-huntsmen-and-golden-orbs-20160306-gnc3bz.html "undefined") reports. David Brock, search and discovery manager at the Australian Museum, said the booming populations are not harmful to people, and even control the insect populations — but their webs are found much more frequently. “With the golden orb spiders, they can colonize whole trees,” Mr Bock told the _Morning Herald_. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4249449/spiders-sydney-weather/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4249449/spiders-sydney-weather/"},"headline":"Sydney Is Swarming With Spiders Thanks to Warm Weather","datePublished":"2016-03-07T15:41:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:40:26.428Z","description":"Arachnophobes have extra reason to avoid Australia","url":"https://time.com/4249449/spiders-sydney-weather/","keywords":["animals"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb0f1b7ba56dac7bb/698880762dce015c649e812a/huntsman-spider-populations-sydney-australia.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb0f1b7ba56dac7bb/698880762dce015c649e812a/huntsman-spider-populations-sydney-australia.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"redback spider populations sydney australia","caption":"redback spider populations sydney australia","creditText":"Roland Seitre—Getty Images/Minden Pictures RM","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4249449/spiders-sydney-weather/","name":"Sydney Is Swarming With Spiders Thanks to Warm Weather"}}]}] ```