It's raining spiders in Brazil (random science)

I saw an article posted on facebook with footage of spiders falling from the sky.  They quoted a biologist who said that the species is a social species that lives in massive colonies, and that the behavior is not unexpected/unusual.  The author contends that it is, and promises to follow up 'as answers are found'.

I started looking up some crazy things I remember reading about spiders jumping to their deaths (more on that later), but when I went back and watched the footage, they certainly were not making rapid descents, as the descriptor 'raining' would suggest.  The biologist quoted also described them as making 'sheet webs' which seems to explain this.  Either way, it's really something to see.

Article Link: Think Nemo's bad? In Brazil it's raining spiders

So, the memory this triggered for me was of a brain eating fungus that infects a particular spider host.  When the brain is infected the spider eventually climbs to the tallest tree it can find and jumps to its death.  Unfortunately I couldn't find anything on that phenomenon and got side tracked on the two following (random science) topics.

Mexican Jumping Death Spider

If this species (not actually originating in Mexico) chooses to jump and successfully reaches the apex of the jump, it will die at that point in its jump.  If it jumps or falls but does not consciously choose to do so, it will not die.  If it chooses to jump but does not reach the apex or is in some way obstructed from successfully jumping, it also will not die.

"The Mexican jumping death spider is a rare sight to see in Waterloo, and chances are if you see one, it will die trying to hide from you. Please, for the sake of the species, do not look for them; they are an endangered species"

Brain eating ameoba

This ameoba is fatal for the rare swimmer that contracts it in US freshwater, with the threat each year subsiding with the onset of winter.  But a couple of people have contracted it through their neti pots.  Only a couple, but still....I think I'll be using distilled water from now on.

Brain eating ameoba article

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At least 26 cases of lyme in Montana through 2011 (per CDC)

Help educate your fellow Montanans about lyme....I hear often and have repeated myself (until a few nights ago when two nurses set me straight) that there is only one confirmed case in Montana. That was outdated by at least 2007----even the CDC acknowledges AT LEAST 26 CASES FROM 2006 TO 2011. Your chances of getting diagnosed if you live in Montana won't improve until doctors admit that its here (and that residing here does not somehow make you immune to it here or anywhere you travel).

http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/stats/chartstables/reportedcases_statelocality.html

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