How do spiders get from Iowa to Georgia? Carrie Straight 05.03.01 Many scientists ask how and why a species moves from one area to another (called dispersal). One scientist wanted to learn what types of insects traveled through the air. He attached 3 cone-shaped nets to 3 large poles. Each pole had a net placed at about 10 feet off the ground, one at 177 feet, and one at 277 feet. Each net was open for about 3-6 hours. He took down the net and identified all of the insects, spiders, and mites that were in the traps. In the nets he found all sorts of animals as well as seeds from plants. Amazingly, he found spiders in all of the nets -- even the ones 277 feet off of the ground (that’s 23 stories high). Many the spiders were youngsters. This discovery showed that wind is an easy way for wingless insects and spiders to travel great distances. Freeman, J. A. 1946. The distribution of spiders and mites up to 300 ft in the air. Journal of Animal Ecology 15(1): 69-74. ©2001 The Aurora Collection, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Site Development by: Interactive Multimedia. Inc.