Indiana is being overflown by millions of tiny UFOs. They look like small bright spots in the clear blue sky Indiana is enjoying this week and are best seen in morning or evening.
Many species of smaller spiders will climb high in a tree and spread a net of webbing. The wind will take this like a kite and carry the spider for miles, sometimes hundreds of miles. This frequently happens shortly after a hatching so an observer might see dozens in an hour.
This afternoon I observed about fifteen. Most appeared as a bright fuzzy spot in the blue sky traveling in the direction of the wind and reflecting the sunlight. One or two were two or three bright spots connected by gossamer webbing making the whole thing resemble a creature in the first Poltergeist movie. truly an alien appearance.
Detailed information about this unusual trait of spiders can be found in Wikipedia. Search for ballooning (spiders).
©2010 David A. Henninger
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