Watch out for 'flying spiders' in Chicago
Like 3 Dislike 0 Published on 8 May 2015
Flying spiders: it's a Chicago phenomenon that may keep you up at night.
“Every spring we start to see a couple of spiders on the outside of our windows. Sometimes it can be a lot. I don't know how they get up there because we live on the 81st floor,” said Chicagoan Maggie Gellens.
Wings would explain how spiders could get to the top of the Hancock, but they don't have wings. They actually get there by balloon.
“Ballooning is when they simply let a little strand out of their abdomen, [it] gets caught by the wind and they blow long until they happen to hit a place like this, where they can build a web,” said curator of Urban Ecology Steven Sullivan.
This time of year, besides just "flying," young spiders will also grow fatter and fatter by catching bugs in their webs. The Hilton Chicago Magnificent Mile suites even put out a note warning guests not to open windows, because of the natural occurrence.
“It definitely creeps me out a lot. The kids think it's a lot of fun. They usually don't get in the house,” Gellens said.
That's because the spiders don't want to get into your house. They've actually evolved to live on cliff faces and prefer hard surfaces like the side of a high rise.
“It also has the added benefit if you go and turn on a light, you will be attracting insects that the spider can eat,” Sullivan said.
FOX 32 reports that Chicagoans should expect to see 'flying spiders' in great numbers. Also, the spiders can't hurt us, and this happens in Chicago because of insect breeding around Lake Michigan.