Spiders with wings or how arachnids fly

A bit of history

On his next voyage on Her Majesty's Beagle, Charles Darwin discovered spiders. And this would not be unusual, if not for several circumstances:

1. The ship was sailing hundreds of kilometers from the shore.
2. The ship was at sea for a very long time.
3. A distant island in the Pacific was approaching.

Of course, the scientist was interested in how these little spiders got on the ship. And there were representatives of the genus on the islands of the Juan Fernandez archipelago.

flying spiders

Ghost spider.

Flying or flying spiders called all representatives that can move "through the air." Recently they have been studied and bred into a separate species - Philisca ingens and nicknamed ghosts.

These are small creatures, up to 25 mm in size. The body is large, and the legs are light and inconspicuous. These individuals are also found in Russia, in some places in the middle lane and in the Far East.

Interestingly, representatives of the same type of flyers differ from each other in the shape and structure of the body. This applies to individuals insular and living on the mainland.

How do spiders fly

Researchers unravel the mystery of how spiders fly. In addition to the well-known methods of movement on the cobwebs, which are used by many types of spiders, another ability has appeared.

Species of spiders, which are called ghosts, are able to use wind currents and even the earth's magnetic field to move around. Of course, they cannot control the trajectory with an accuracy of several centimeters, but they set the direction themselves.

The flight system with the help of electric charges has been tested and successfully used by bumblebees.

Selenops spiders

Selenops banksi is considered a hovering spider. These are animals that live in the Amazon rainforest. They live at the very top of the trees. This type of spider is a fast and strong predator.

Spiders of the Selenops species, in order to protect themselves and to speed up the hunt, learned to plan between the trees. At the moment, scientists from the University of California at Berkeley are still conducting experiments.

Selenops banks.

But practice has shown that these spiders use air currents for their own benefit:

1. Experimental spiders were shaken from a height.
2. They turned upside down.
3. They spread their paws to the sides.
4. Gently maneuvered in flight.
5. None of the spiders fell like a stone.

Conclusion

If spiders could fly, then everyone suffering from archaphobia would be afraid to leave the house. Fortunately, ghost spiders that have gained the ability to move around with the help of a magnetic field and webs are very tiny and do not harm people.