Spiders that use wind to carry them to new locations not only can survive a landing on water, but can also sail, even on fairly turbulent surfaces.
Many spiders exhibit 'ballooning' behaviour — they spin silken sails to travel long distances on the wind. It had been thought that encountering water would be fatal. But Morito Hayashi at the Natural History Museum, London, and his team found that some species could survive on fresh and salt water in laboratory tests carried out at the University of Nottingham, UK, and would raise their legs or abdomens to use as sails to move across the surface. The spiders also used silk to anchor themselves in place while afloat.
This ability to control movement on water counterbalances the risks of ballooning by helping them to survive watery landings.
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Flying spiders also sail on water. Nature 523, 130–131 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/523130d
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/523130d
