Can spiders fly?

[WendyS]

I ask because this morning I spotted a spider's thread about four yards in length between my Hills Hoist washing line and some runner bean plants in a border and the beginnings of a web being spun. There wasn't much of a breeze last night so I'm wondering how the spider breached the distance.

[phaloides]

This is how spiders disperse. When quite small (spiderlings) they clinb to some high point and spin out a web
until sufficient has been released to enable the wind to carry the spider away (like hang gliding ) . Ain' t nature wonderful.

[heathfield]

Some tiny spiders do travel through the air, so in a way they fly. They let out a line that catches any movement of air, then, still holding onto the line, they let go their perch. The line of web is what's called a gossamer, and you can often see them as a silvery line floating in the air on a sunny day.

[RATTER15]

No they cant fly!! being blown around is not flying!!

[Thunderbird+]

Following on from the above threads, some baby spiders have been captured as high as seven miles above the ground, that had floated up on gossamer. Amazing!

[netibiza]

Well then, that's another reason not to fly on a plane - clouds of spiders ahead - yuk