A mother-of-two who noticed strange-looking pods hanging from the leaves of a palm tree when she peered across her backyard was utterly terrified when she discovered they were full of spiders.
Ashlee, who lives in the Sutherland Shire in Sydney's south, took photos of the six pear-shaped sacks and posted them to Facebook, hoping to find out what they were.
Several people explained each pod could be full of about 600 Magnificent Spider eggs.
In light of the skin-crawling news, Ashlee is now considering ripping the tree, which hangs over her pool, out of the ground.
Ashlee who lives in the Sutherland Shire, in Sydney's south, took photos of the six pear-shaped sacks and posted them to Facebook, hoping to find out what they were
Several people explained each pod could be full of about 600 Magnificent Spider eggs
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<!- - ad: https://mads.dailymail.co.uk/v8/us/news/none/article/other/mpu_factbox.html?id=mpu_factbox_1 - ->Advertisement'I am petrified of spiders,' Hannah told Yahoo. 'I had a hunch it was a spider, but they looked way too big,' she told Yahoo News Australia.
'I honestly want to tear down the branch as I have two young girls under two, but that means getting near it.'
But social media users fascinated by Ashlee's discovery begged her not to hurt the creatures.
'Omg never seen anything like this,' one wrote.
Another said: 'Beautiful... bring them to mine! Don't kill them.'
The Magnificent Spider is a species that is found along Australia's east coast and lives in trees and forests.
They form a group of three species of Bolas spiders, that lay large brown sacs which are up to about five centimetres in length.
The spiders are not harmful to humans and are mostly active at night to hunt for food.
The spider is native to the east cost of Australia and lives in trees and forests
According to the Australian Museum, the spider hunts for prey using the silk it produces to catch moths.
Female magnificent spiders stand out more than males as they are covered in various markings.
'The female magnificent spider is very distinctive in its markings,' states the Australian Museum website.
'It is white with two bright yellow knobs on its abdomen, and a number of salmon-coloured spots and blotches as well,'
'The body and limbs are covered with long fine hairs, especially the forelegs'.
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