Ghost spiders know how to fly silk to make kites to cross the sea

Ghost spiders use silk as kite wings to fly hundreds of kilometers through the ocean to settle on the island more than 600km from the Chilean coast.

Scientists have discovered three new ghost spiders living on Robinson Crusoe Island , located more than 600km from the Chilean coast, in the South Pacific region, Gizmodo said Thursday.

Ghost spiders fly on Robinson Crusoe Island, off the Pacific Ocean.(Photo: Gustavo Hormiga).

Ghost spiders are native to South America, named after their light body color and the ability to run very fast. About two million years ago, spiders migrated to the island using "wind" technology , meaning they used silk as a kind of kite to travel long distances. With these kites, spiders can move up to 30km per day.

"All living things here come from elsewhere and evolve in a very short time , " said Martin Ramirez, a spider researcher.

Martin Ramirez's team began studying spiders on the island since 2011 and found four new ghost spiders a year later. However, Eduardo Soto, a researcher, recently revealed that there are still three other ghost spiders yet to be named.

Robinson Crusoe island map.(Photo: Wikipedia).

A special feature of this spider is that males have very small sexual organs compared to body size. In addition, they interact with each other by mouth, like a kiss.

The ghost spider is growing healthy on Robinson Crusoe island. However, the number of spiders is very small, limited to more than 50 km ² , Martin said. They can eat larger insects and live in ferns, rotting logs or under bark.