How High Can Spiders Fly?
WouterIf you’ve ever wondered how high can spiders fly, you’ve probably heard the term ballooning. The process occurs when a spider uses silk to lift itself off the ground. The method can take a spider over three miles above the earth’s surface. It can also carry a spider across an ocean.
Ballooning can be a dangerous and unpredictable event. However, researchers have found that spiders can float away from predators and competitors using the same technique that makes them airborne.
The spiders’ behavior is known as trichobothria. They spin silk lines, which form a lightweight parachute. The silk becomes charged as it rises in the air. The spiders can then use the charged thread to give them lift.
Scientists believe that they use the electric field in the air to lift themselves. They have studied the effects of concentrated charges on the threads. When the field is turned off, the spiders return to the ground.
The theory of electrostatic repulsion flight was developed in the early 1800s by Charles Darwin. The spiders that Darwin observed were tiny and he noted their entire behavior.
In recent years, a team of researchers at the University of Bristol in England have discovered how to replicate the behavior of real spiders. They used virtual simulations to study how spiders would fly in a controlled environment.
As the spiders were simulated, researchers were able to measure updrafts near the ground and in the air. Those updrafts are more common when the wind is slow.
