We can now call spiders sailors as well as aviators.

Researchers at the spider lab at Nottingham University have found that spiders are able to travel across water like ships, using their legs as sails and silk as an anchor, according to new research.

They are already known to be able to use their silk to catch the wind and carry them up to 18 miles per day, known as ballooning.

There are five methods spiders use to negotiate travelling on water, they are;

the sailing technique - upside-down sailing they use their abdomens to catch the wind.

Anchoring - they release their silk into the water.

Speedy walking and mimicking death - were they freeze themselves but can still float thanks to their water repellent feet.

Tests carried out on trays of water show that many species adopted elaborate postures.

The clever creatures were seen to use their silk as anchors to slow themselves down.

And to even stop themselves from moving across water.

Online Editors