Spider webs

 

Spider webs

Not all spiders build spider webs, some species dig burrows, others live on the surface of the water and use the water as a web by picking up the vibrations. Spider webs are important to spiders as they do not have to expend precious energy by “chasing” prey ….

Spider webs have been used by certain species of spiders for millions of years as a means of capturing their prey. Spider webs are very effective and have been used to ensnare prey since the beginning of time, more so as “winged” insects started to evolve creating a larger menu for spiders were only used to eating terrestrial and arboreal invertebrates etc.

So, What’s the difference between spider webs and cobwebs?

The difference between cobwebs and spider webs is that spider webs are still being used by the spider for the capture of prey, breeding rituals etc, where as “cobwebs” are spider webs that have been long abandoned and are usually full of insect exoskeletons, dust and debris, a spiders abandoned home you might say is a good description of a cobweb.

Different types of spider webs.

There are many different types of spider webs and although they all basically do the same thing. The “sheet webs” type Spider webs would have to be the most common spider webs, then there are tent webs, tangle webs, tubular webs, spiraled orb webs, and funnel webs.

Sheet weavers webs

Sheet type spider webs take in larger areas then most types of spider webs as they have a larger capture area which in turn increases the chance of capturing prey, spiders that belong to the sheet web family are Linyphiidae, the Linyphiidae family of spiders comprises of around 4.300 different species.

Tent web spider webs

The Tent web spiders fall into the family Araneidae of which there are around 38 different species. To look at the spider webs itself it is shaped much like a satellite dish, once again this gives a greater capture area increasing the chance of capturing prey, interestingly most of these webs are not “sticky” to the touch and are mostly built in bushes.

Tent spider webs are fairly large and take in a lot of space and can be up to two and a half meters in some cases depending on the tent spider species.It can take a tent spider a great deal of time to construct its spider webs and once up they are very intricate works of art, not only that they are water proof!

Funnel spider webs

Funnel web building spiders are not to be confused with the trapdoor spider, the funnel web building spider has no lid on the entrance to it’s burrow unlike the trap door spider. The funnel web building species falls into the family of Agelenidae. Funnel web building spiders are named such because of their spider webs that are funnel shaped.

How do spiders build spider webs?

We have already established why do spiders build spider webs, so how do they they do it? All spider webs you may encounter all start off by a single thread. The spider climbs to a high point and releases a very very fine silk thread that is picked up by the slightest of breeze and floats. Eventually this fine silk thread sticks to another object and the spider can then feel there is resistance in the thread and pulls it tight and anchors it off.

The now attached silk thread is the basis of spider webs. The spider now walks out along this tight fine silk thread and as it goes it drops another thread as it walks and  lays more and more frame threads to anchor points.

This is not an easy process to try and explain but basically, after these main frame lines have been set which are not sticky, there are then a series of radial threads that spiral outwards setting up the scaffolding of the spiders web.

Once all of this is in place the spider then begins to weave the intricate netting. I guess the easiest way for me to explain it would be to suggest you watch the how spiders build spider webs video below

What is spider web made of?

Spider webs which are made up of what is commonly known as “spider silk” which in fact is not really a silk at all it is a protein. The proteins that make up spider webs are sericin and fibroin these are arranged in chains to form the spider webs threads as we see it. Sericin is a gelatinous protein that is also found in silkworm thread, and another good example would be hair, hair is made of a protein called keratin, also our fingernails, toenails and the outer layer of our skin are all made up from keratin.

Spider webs facts

Spider silk is made up from tightly knit chains of amino acids.

The two primary amino acids in spider silk are alanine and glycine.

Spider silk is five times stronger than steel!

Spider webs are made of the world’s strongest known biological material

Spider webs are made of the worlds strongest biological material.

Spider silk can stretch to thirty percent longer than its original length without breaking or fraying, this is what makes spider webs so strong!

Spiders can produce around 7 different types of silk which is used for different applications, such as egg sac and building spider webs etc.

Video, how do spiders build spider webs

Spider webs pictures, source wiki