Look closerInsects
Ballooning spiders: young spiders flying away on silk threads
When: September to October
On warm fall days, young spiders climb to a high point, stand on tiptoe, and let out silk until the wind carries them away, a trip that can cover inches or hundreds of miles.
Why this time of year
Ballooning happens especially in fall, when the year's young spiders disperse, and on the right warm afternoon so many launch at once that stray silk strands drift and snag across fields and fences.
How to notice it
- Pick a warm, breezy fall afternoon and scan across a field or lawn with the sun ahead of you at a low angle.
- Look for single glinting strands drifting by in mid-air, or silk caught in patches on fences, shrubs, and stubble.
- Find the launch pose: a tiny spider at the tip of a fence post or tall stem, abdomen tilted up, letting silk out.
- None of it is dangerous; the silk is empty rigging by the time it lands.
Try this with kids: Can you spot a silk strand floating past with nobody on it?
ballooning means riding the wind on strands of spider silk, which is also called gossamer
Sources
- mdc.mo.govThe spider releases silk from the end of its abdomen, and when the strand catches enough wind the spider lets go and is carried aloft; young spiders usually balloon, chiefly to disperse after hatching; when large numbers balloon at the same time their silk strands may entangle and form a large mass.
- citybugs.tamu.eduBallooning is an annual phenomenon occurring especially in the fall; spiders climb a high point, turn spinnerets skyward, and wind currents catch the emerging silk; the silken parachutes adhere to one another and form clumps large enough for casual observers to see, hence the gossamer; a natural, non-threatening phenomenon.
- uwm.eduYoung spiders and even adults of the smaller species climb to the top of a tall object, face into the wind, stand on tiptoe, and release fine strands called gossamer; thermal updrafts pick up the line and the spider; on warm fall days silver streaks of web can fill the air at all altitudes; trips may span inches or hundreds of miles.
In the guide for September, October