Article August 21, 1902 Issue

Spider Aeronauts

The Literary Digest

"It is well known," says the Revue Scientifique, "that certain spiders can be transported by the wind, owing to a very light silken thread that they emit from the spinneret which is blown along by an ascending current of air. A thread a yard long, according to the experiments of M. Favier, can sustain the weight of a young spider. For many years M. Favier has witnessed every spring the dispersion of young spiders from a large number of nests. In a few hours, in favorable weather, a thousand young ones will set out from the same nest to begin their travels. The spider is not absolutely passive, but can regulate its ascent, both at its departure and during the journey. It is sufficient to increase the length of the string to mount more quickly, and to shorten it when wishing to alight. Possibly certain hybernating species may accomplish a sort of periodic emigration by this means."—The Literary Digest.

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