Spiders can 'fly' because they make near-invisible paragliders

SOME spiders can take to the air, moving hundreds of kilometres with the winds. Now we know how they do it: they make “paragliders” from ultra-thin fibres.

Many kinds of spider travel through the air with the help of silk fibres that act like paragliders. There has been no mystery about how lighter spiderlings fly, often taking to the air soon after hatching to avoid being eaten.

But it has been hard to explain how larger spiders do it. They were thought to release only a few thick, short fibres, which in theory shouldn’t give enough lift.

To solve the…