The National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (Nicap)

# Approved For Release 2001/04/02 : CIA-RDP81R00560R000100010001-0

very young spiders on hatching will frequently pay out long strands of silk from their spinnerets until the wind catches them and they eventually become airborne, sometimes being transported many miles and even, as I seemed to recall, far out to sea on occasion.

"At the time I assumed that some phenomenon of temperature or timing had resulted in the mass hatching and exodus of a certain type of spider somewhere on the mainland, and that furthermore, these webs must be fragments of the original strands which in themselves may have been of considerable length. Spiders can and do at times produce vast lengths (in proportion to their size) of web material at little expense to their own metabolism, and I visualized the little spiderlets, wherever they might be, continuing to emit their silken trails during their airborne journey as the wind broke and blew the first ones away. Although we captured a number of these strands on our fingertips, no spiders were to be seen despite the likelihood that a certain percentage of them would still have spiders attached.

"With the intention of examining the strands under my laboratory microscope when we reached the Seaquarium, I carefully placed several of them inside a mason jar, allowing them to cling to the inside of the glass before I capped it. Under high power I had hoped to see the tiny adhesive droplets that adorn most but not all spider webs, and were these present, there would be little doubt of their true nature. However, when I uncapped the jar later in my office, no trace of the web material could be found.

"This phenomenon is to me still unexplained, and I have seen nothing comparable to it before or since. I will mention

by way of information that I have always been interested in the biology of spiders and their webs, particularly the giant orbweaver Nephilia, whose bright golden web is a fairly common sight through the Everglades. Strong enough to support small pebbles, this web has actually been woven into cloth by natives of the tropics.

"From the foregoing, I would say that it is possible that the strands we saw were something other than spider web, and I have no explanation for the apparent disappearance of the collected material in the mason jar."

/s/ Craig Phillips

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service,

Department of the Interior; 11-5-63

The reported dissipation of the angel's hair in this case is commonly reported. Some analysts who do not think all angel's hair is cobwebs use this feature to differentiate "true" angel's hair from spider webs. If this assumption is correct, angel's hair unfortunately becomes a will-of-the-wisp which disappears before it can be analyzed properly, and therefore it does not constitute good physical evidence.

Biologists who have examined angel's hair which has subsequently dissipated have been unable to account for it in terms of spiders. The substances which have not dissipated so far show no particular pattern, and may be attributed to many different phenomena. The following chart includes all reported cases of falls of gossamer-like material which have been compiled by NICAP for specific dates.

ANGEL's HAIR AND/OR GOSSAMER FALLS

Date & Location	U.F.O. reported	Dissipation	Spiders	Remarks & Notes
9-21-1741; Bradly, England Strands 5-6 inches long"fell with some velocity"for hours in great quantity. [From Charles Fort]
9-20-1892; Gainesville, Florida Vast quantity"like great white sheets"some"50 yards or more in length. [Proceedings, Entomological Society of Washington, D.C., Vol.II(1892)ppg.385-388.]
11-21-1898; Montgomery, Alabama Strands several inches long fell in batches; reportedly phosphorescent. [From Charles Fort]
11-10-49; Depues Ferry, Pennsylvania	X [“Inside Saucer Post...3-0 Blue,”Stringfield,p.49]
10-11-50; Butte County, California	X Sample analyzed by Dr. Willis J.Gertsch,Museum of Natural History; identified as gossamer. [Natural History, January 1951]
10-11-50; Paradise, California	X	X Partial dissipation reported, leaving"tough white threads--resembling a spiderweb,but of much tougher consistency."[Chico Enterprise-Record,October 12,1950]
10-17-1952; Oloron, France	X	X Fibres burned like cellophane when ignited. [“The Truth about flying Saucers,”Michel,ppg.146-7]
10-27-52; Gaillac, France	X	X [Ibid.,p.148]
4-15-53; Auckland,N.Z. X [“Challenge of UFOs,”Maney&Hall,p.59]
5-30-53; Christchurch,N.Z.	X [Ibid.,p.59]
10-9-53; Melbourne,Australia X [Ibid.,p.59]
10-13-53; Pleasant Hill,California	X [Ibid.,p.59]
11-16-53; San Fernando Valley,California	X	X [Pageant,November 1954]
10-19-54; Fort Wayne,Indiana [Stringfield,op.cit.,p.49]
10-22-54; Marysville,Ohio	X	X [Maney&Hall,op.cit.,ppg.40-42]
10-28-54; Rome,Italy	X [Ibid.,p.59]
11-4-54; Nelson,N.Z.	X [Stringfield,op.cit.,p.49]
11-8-54; Florence,Italy	X [Ibid.,p.59]
12-12-54; Christchurch,N.Z.	X [Ibid.,p.49]
2-21-55; Horseheads,N.Y. "White,fibrous and heavily impregnated with soot and dirt"No odor,did not burn rapidly.[AP,2-22-55]

Approved For Release 2001/04/02 : $ ^{1} $ CIA-RDP81R00560R000100010001-0