If your nightmares can come true, your dreams can too, which is literally the only positive thing you'll learn from a 2015 study on flying spiders.
If you don't believe me, there's a video to prove it.
If you already thought spiders could fly, you're not crazy. Most spiders appear they can glide or fly because of their spider silk. This strong protein fiber is barely visible when it's a single strand, which helps arachnids float through air or glide away from danger.
However, there's no history of spiders being able to actually fly because they don't have wings.
There's approximately 10 million known species in the tropical rainforest, which means survival of the fittest is crucial. Species that are unable to adapt in competitive environments are left to die.
According to the study published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, some tropical spiders can fly without the use of their trusty spider silk. This is great for them, but a scary realization for people...
According to National Geographic, Stephen Yanoviak, a tropical arthropod ecologist at the University of Louisville, and his team spent years hunting for insects that can "glide with precision."
They came across the "Flattie" spider, an arachnid that lives in the American tropics. The scientists deduced that these spiders evolved because tree trunks became safer territory than the forest floor.
In their experiment, the ecologists dropped the spiders from a height of 20 to 25 meters above ground.
"You'll see the spider steering as it goes through the tree," Yanoviak commented on the agility of the spiders. "If it wants to turn left, it changes the angle of the right front leg. And if it wants to turn right, it does the same with the left front leg."
In the YouTube video posted by National Geographic, you can watch the "Flattie" spider fly and change direction mid-air!
Have you ever been scared by a dangling spider? What would you do if a flying spider was coming towards you?
[Source: National Geographic]