Spiders can "fly" on electric fields: study

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-06 00:03:00|Editor: yan

WASHINGTON, July 5 (Xinhua) -- A study published on Thursday in the journal Current Biology has shown that spiders may fly by electric fields that trigger their ballooning and provide lift, even in the absence of air movement.

Spiders can travel many hundreds of miles through the air by releasing silk and floating away, which is called ballooning. Researchers had thought that ballooning behavior required drag forces from wind or thermals.

Erica Morley and her colleague Daniel Robert from the University of Bristol found that atmospheric electric fields might play a role.

"We don't yet know whether electric fields are required to allow spider ballooning," said Morley from the University of Bristol. "We do, however, know that they are sufficient."

More:
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-07/06/c_137304298.htm

[Judi Lynn]

1. Electricity potential answer to the mystery of 'flying' spiders

Electricity potential answer to the mystery of 'flying' spiders
6JUL2018

Cloudy with a chance of... spiders?

The phenomenon of "flying" spiders gliding into the air and traveling like balloons for hundreds of miles (kilometers) has a new possible explanation: the air's natural electric charge.

Aerial spider journeys -- often known as "ballooning" -- have long been observed, notably by biologist Charles Darwin, who documented the spectacle in his diary in the 19th century.

One closely studied hypothesis suggested that spiders weave very fine silk threads that catch in the wind and whisk them aloft, sometimes over great distances at high altitudes.

More:
https://www.afp.com/en/news/2265/electricity-potential-answer-mystery-flying-spiders-doc-1771n91

[Anon-C]

2. They Ride the Lightning!

[klook]

3. Link to source:

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(18)30693-6

Fantastic -- thanks for posting.