Ballooning Spiders: The Case for Electrostatic Flight

by Prof. Peter Gorham (Physics UHM)

Thursday Sep 19, 2019, 3:30 PM → 4:30 PM Pacific/Honolulu

112 (Watanabe Hall)

Spiders of a wide range of sizes  and species have evolved an adaptation that allows them to quickly change neighborhoods, or even continents in some cases: the ability to loft themselves on strands of web up to many thousands of feet in the atmosphere, and travel hundreds of miles before returning to earth. This behavior, known as ballooning, has been studied by biologists since the 19th century, even Charles Darwin was among the observers of these phenomena. Although early observation strongly suggested there could be an atmospheric electricity connection to this behavior, all subsequent arachnological research and theory has centered on the role of wind currents in the process. Within the last decade though, the role of electrostatics in spider ballooning has been revived via work by UH physicists, and a recent experiment at Univ. of Bristol has upended the traditional theory. We discuss the basis for this recent work, and the Bristol experiment, and other creepy things about our 8-legged friends. (Not recommended for those with arachnophobia!).