A spider web unlike any seen before

Chemoautotrophic cave ecosystem

• Commenters focus on the food chain the NYT piece downplays: sulfur-rich water → sulfur-oxidizing bacterial biofilm → midges → spiders.
• The cave is cited as a chemoautotrophic ecosystem, compared to deep-sea hydrothermal vent communities.
• One detailed reply argues this system is not truly independent of sunlight, since most sulfur-oxidizing microbes use dissolved oxygen ultimately produced by photosynthetic life.
• They note that only certain acetogenic and methanogenic microbes can be fully independent of solar energy, and those conditions don’t apply here.

Web structure, prey capture, and multi-species coexistence

• The web is described as a dense silk sheet covering the cave walls, with some wondering how prey can’t detect and avoid it. Others answer that in pitch darkness, visibility is irrelevant.
• Questions arise about spiders living deep inside the web and what advantage they get if midges mostly hit outer layers.
• The coexistence of two species—one that normally preys on the other—is attributed by researchers to darkness preventing visual recognition.
• Several commenters doubt vision is key, noting many spiders rely mainly on web vibrations and tactile hairs, with generally poor eyesight.

Spider sociality and evolution

• One person expresses surprise spiders can be communal; others point to documented social spider species.
• There’s light speculation that crowding and abundant food might favor tolerance and reduced aggression over time, though this remains speculative and unproven in the thread.

Humans, spiders, and pest control

• Many comments share home “treaties” with spiders: tolerated in corners, removed from beds/food, often rehomed with glass-and-card instead of killed.
• Several argue spiders are valuable pest control against flies, mosquitoes, and ants; others still find them too disturbing to live with.
• Debate emerges over ethics and effectiveness of glue traps versus spider webs, with some calling glue traps cruel and emphasizing that spiders typically kill prey quickly.

Hydrogen sulfide and cave safety

• Some question the juxtaposition of “too high for most animals to live there” with footage of unmasked researchers.
• Others clarify from linked sources that measured H₂S levels can reach ~14 ppm—unpleasant and needing precautions, but below acute lethal thresholds.
• A side discussion notes olfactory fatigue: “getting used” to the smell can be a warning sign, not reassurance.

Environmental reflections and responsibility

• The discovery is framed by some as an example of Earth’s hidden wonders that are being destroyed.
• A debate ensues over whether “we” (ordinary consumers) or billionaires/owners bear primary responsibility for environmental damage, with arguments about labor, ownership, and how emissions should be attributed.

Media and archival notes

• One commenter explains that the archive site preserves the article HTML but not the NYT video itself; the video still streams from NYT and could vanish later.