Flying Spiders

The great thing about wildlife is not knowing what is going to catch the eye each time I go out. Today it was these little spiders on fencing at Strawberry Hill.


It was only when one "flew away" that I realised what many of them were up to. They climbed to the top of the fence posts, stood on tip-toe, raised their abdomen into the air:


and sprayed a loose bundle of silk (gossamer) into the light breeze:


then, when the tension was sufficient, launched backwards into the air. With limited depth of field and the rapid departure, unfortunately the only launch I managed to capture was out-of-focus. (Maybe next time?)


These two weren't interested in flying though:


Once finished, they tapped each other on the back with their forelegs and rapidly backed apart.

Photos by Keith Balmer