How Do Spiders Take Down Their Webs?
WouterGenerally speaking, spiders are not very mobile. They build webs around their hiding places, but do not move much. During the day, they rest with their legs drawn under their body. At night, they rebuild their webs. In the morning, they may even tear down their old webs.
There are many different kinds of webs. Some are fairly intricate, while others are more streamlined. Each web is made from different types of silk. This allows the spider to maximize its chances of catching a meal.
When constructing a web, the spider uses its cognitive abilities to pick the best anchor points. It will also assess the availability of silk. After it has completed the work, it will redo the web each and every day.
The orb-weaver is a good example. Although these spiders don’t eat humans, they do feed on pest insects. They are beneficial to the environment, as they help to control the population of these insect pests.
The orb-weaver can produce a web that measures nearly three feet in diameter. While this is not quite as impressive as a pyramid, it is still a feat of science.
It’s not always easy to tell if a spider is actually taking down its own web. Aside from looking at its head, you can’t see the actual structure. However, a simple tiling technique can prove the point.
To test the “thinking web” hypothesis, scientists manipulated the structure of a spider’s web. The result was a slightly concave web made up of dense mass of threads.
