Mag Mile Hotel Warns Guests About "Flying Spiders"
CHICAGO (CBS) -- If you're afraid of spiders, the last thing you probably want to hear about is a flying spider, so we wouldn't be surprised if you thought twice about staying at a posh downtown hotel after seeing the flyer they've been passing around to guests around this time each year.
A note to guests at the Hilton Chicago Magnificent Mile Suites, shared on Reddit, requested "you not open your windows in your suite during this time, to avoid the annual migration of high-rise flying spiders, a Chicago phenomenon."
The note said lakeshore high rises, the Willis Tower, and the John Hancock Center have noticed an annual influx of flying spiders spinning miniature masterpieces as high as 95 stories.
Flying spiders -- a type of orb weaver spiders commonly known as bridge spiders or gray cross spiders -- technically don't fly; the baby spiders spin balloon-like webs, which are caught by the wind, and travel great distances. When full grown, they're pretty big, about the size of a half dollar coin.
That's little solace to arachnophobes in Chicago, as evidenced by some of the over-the-top comments about the photo of the Hilton's note posted on imgur, suggesting how to get rid of the problem; ranging from calling room service to order fire to ordering a strategic nuclear attack on Chicago.
The spiders apparently are attracted to high rises because of the lights inside at night.