Spiders which can fly

Biologically, this evolution may seem cool; however, it is a real-life horror experience for most people who witness this. As per Stephen Yanoviak, a tropical arthropod ecologist at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, these spiders glide in the air very precisely. They carried out several tests to see these spiders fly and concluded that they could hang glide just like grasshoppers and praying mantises.

Moreover, they painted the spiders orange to observe better before throwing them from a tall tree. Due to their thin bodies, they mimic a landing that is better than that of a typical cat. Besides, they are so quick and can change their angles mid-flight.

This flying ability of the spiders may be put to use in the future to create new robot designs. Maybe, these scary creatures have some use to humans after all. Many species such as black widow and wolf spider are dangerous to humans. However, the Selenops is not known to be venomous to humans. Although they are capable of flying on to humans and attacking them, there are no known cases of bites. Their venom is not poisonous, so even if they bite, you will not need medical treatment.

Peter Gorham, a physicist, resurrected the idea in , and showed that it was mathematically plausible. And now, Morley and Robert have tested it with actual spiders. First, they showed that spiders can detect electric fields. They put the arachnids on vertical strips of cardboard in the center of a plastic box, and then generated electric fields between the floor and ceiling of similar strengths to what the spiders would experience outdoors.

In response, the spiders performed a set of movements called tiptoeing—they stood on the ends of their legs and stuck their abdomens in the air. Many of the spiders actually managed to take off, despite being in closed boxes with no airflow within them. And when Morley turned off the electric fields inside the boxes, the ballooning spiders dropped. Do spiders use information on atmospheric conditions to make decisions about when to break down their webs, or create new ones?

They can even go to any new land where there is an abundance of resources. It is an effective way of traveling for spiders a report by The Atlantic explained. The spiders have been observed to have gone as high as two-and-a-half miles up in the air and as far as 1, miles out in the sea. It is generally believed that ballooning can work as the silk strands catch the wind and tend to drag the spider along with the flow. However, it has been observed that spiders balloon only when there is light wind speed.

But such low wind speed can barely move the silk strands let alone move the entire spider or provide high acceleration. Scientists at the University of Bristol have now shown that spiders can sense the electric field of the Earth, and use it for launching themselves into the air. If there are foggy or stormy conditions, in that case, the voltage might rise to tens of thousands of volts per metre.

Mystery Solved. Follow Traci Watson on Twitter. All rights reserved. Free Falling Yanoviak and his colleagues have spent years hunting for insects that can glide with precision. Share Tweet Email. Why it's so hard to treat pain in infants.

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