Naked Science Forum

Life Sciences => Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution => Topic started by: nixietube on 14/12/2009 18:30:57

Title: Can I drop a spider from any height?
Post by: nixietube on 14/12/2009 18:30:57

Spider relocation. From my house to the outdoors.

The little spiders I can I pick them up with my hands and release them out on the ground. The big spiders I dont mind admitting I dont like to pick up. They run way too fast and are cunning.  The ones that act dead then spring up as you approach scare the life out of me... so I deploy spider catching technology. Usually a glass and a piece of paper, carefully trap the beast, take him outside and then release onto the ground.

What about throwing them from upper floor windows? Are they safe to throw out the window, or should I always go outside and release directly onto the ground? How high is too high?


To clarify...


erm...  Warning!! .. Spider pictures.


little:


http://www.imbusion.com/day/spiderhang.jpg



big:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3218/3003685142_78f4951696.jpg

Title: Can I drop a spider from any height?
Post by: RD on 14/12/2009 19:40:18

If it's a cat you're throwing out of the window that's a different story (story geddit) ...

Quote

In a 1987 study, published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, of 132 cats that were brought into the New York Animal Medical Center after having fallen from buildings, it was found that the injuries per cat increased depending on the height fallen up to seven stories but decreased above seven stories. The study authors speculated that after falling five stories the cats reached terminal velocity and thereafter relaxed and spread their bodies to increase drag. However, an alternative interpretation which came out of internet chat of the study would be that upon an excess of seven stories the cats experience a higher fatality rate which precludes the owner from bringing them in for medical attention.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_righting_reflex#Injury

Title: Can I drop a spider from any height?
Post by: JnA on 15/12/2009 00:05:46

many spiders use the wind to carry them and relocate anyway. They usually, AFAIK, let out some web to catch onto something as they pass by.

Title: Can I drop a spider from any height?
Post by: AllenG on 15/12/2009 02:53:03

I've encountered ballooning spiders while soaring at 9,000 feet.
I'm assuming that the ones that did not splat on my canopy and wings survived their decent.

Title: Can I drop a spider from any height?
Post by: Don_1 on 16/12/2009 14:00:32

Some spiders will anchor themselves with their thread and ride on the wind like a kite to cross open spaces. By splaying their legs they can catch the wind.

Title: Can I drop a spider from any height?
Post by: AllenG on 16/12/2009 16:57:58

There is also the consideration of drag.
The smaller the object the more buoyant it is in air and the greater the effect of drag.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_(physics)

So, yes a creature as small as a spider can fall nearly any distance and remain unharmed.