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Yes—but “107 million” was an estimate, not a head count. Entomologists studying Baltimore’s Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant in 2009 extrapolated from sampled spider densities and estimated that more than 107 million spiders lived in a sand-filtration building. The figure describes that historical aggregation, not the plant’s population today.
Where were the spiders?
The aggregation was documented inside a sand-filtration building at the City of Baltimore’s Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant, on the west shore of Back River. The facility’s unusual conditions allowed a vast population of web-building spiders to occupy the structure.
The account was published in American Entomologist in July 2010 as “An Immense Concentration of Orb-Weaving Spiders With Communal Webbing in a Man-Made Structural Habitat (Arachnida: Araneae: Tetragnathidae, Araneidae).” Its authors were Albert Greene, Jonathan A. Coddington, Nancy L. Breisch, Dana M. De Roche, and Benedict B. Pagac. The publication record identifies the scientific report.
How did researchers arrive at more than 107 million?
They did not count every spider individually. Researchers measured densities in sampled areas and extrapolated those figures across the building. Their 2009 estimate was more than 107 million spiders, with sampled areas reaching more than 35,000 spiders per cubic meter. Those numbers describe an estimate and peak sampled density, respectively—not a precise total for every part of the building. The 2014 account of the estimate reports both figures.
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The webbing itself was described as occupying about 4,100 cubic meters and covering almost 95% of the building’s interior. These measurements help explain the scale of the aggregation, but web-covered area and spider density are different things. The plant reference gives the reported web volume.
What kind of spiders were they?
Reports identified the spiders principally as long-jawed orb weavers in the family Tetragnathidae, a group associated with wet habitats. The contemporary account described them as about half an inch long including their legs and noted their usual association with swamp habitat. The paper’s title also names Araneidae, so it is more accurate to describe the aggregation as principally Tetragnathidae rather than claim every spider belonged to one species or family. The contemporary report describes the spiders.
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Why could so many live in a wastewater plant?
The site brought together a man-made structure and conditions associated with a wet habitat. The large interior provided extensive space for communal webbing, while the spiders’ association with damp environments helps explain why an orb-weaver aggregation was found there. The documented account establishes the scale of the webbing and population estimate; it does not provide a basis for assigning a single cause beyond the site and habitat context.
Were they dangerous or a problem for workers?
The entomologists described the spiders as harmless. Their webs nevertheless interfered with work: in places, the silk became thick enough to damage light fittings, and workers swept webbing aside to reach equipment. The reported operational impact was from the mass of silk, not a documented threat from spider bites. The researchers’ statement says the spiders were harmless and calls the silk-covered facility a record-breaking natural-history wonder.
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Does the plant still have 107 million spiders?
That number refers to the 2009 observation and cannot be treated as a current census. The documented estimate gives no final population after that event, so it does not establish how many spiders live at the facility now.
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