Spiders don't have wings, but some species can fly hundreds of miles through the air using a technique that sounds like science fiction!
This phenomenon, called "ballooning," has been observed for centuries, but scientists only recently discovered how it actually works - and it involveselectricity!
When certain spiders want to travel, they climb to a high point and release strands of silk into the air. But contrary to what researchers long believed, they're not just catching the wind like a parachute. Instead, they're harnessing the planet's electric field!
The Earth's surface typically maintains a negative charge, while the atmosphere has a positive charge. Spiders' silk strands become electrically charged when released, creating an electrostatic repulsion that can lift the spider upward against gravity! This electrical flying method allows spiders to travel astonishing distances. They've been found by ships in the middle of oceans and by airplanes at altitudes over 2.5 miles (4 kilometers)!
Even more remarkable, spiders seem able to sense the electric field strength before ballooning and can adjust their silk release accordingly. They can also pull in their silk and descend when they've reached their destination.
This discovery helps explain why spiders are often among the first creatures to colonizenew volcanic islands and why they can be found in nearly every habitat on Earth - they've mastered a form of electrical flight that science is just beginning to understand!