How Do Spiders Walk on Walls?
WouterSpiders are master climbers. They are known to climb all sorts of walls. They will even walk upside down across almost any surface. But how does a spider do it?
The way spiders stick to surfaces is by using hairy pads on their feet. These pads are layered with hundreds of thousands of tinier hairs that create a sticky surface. This enables them to stick to nearly any surface.
The hairy feet also create a force when in contact with a surface. The amount of force produced by this is a measure of how strong the adhesion. The biggest obstacle to spiders climbing walls is that they cannot grab the underside of the wall.
The logical reason for this is that the weight of a spider pushes the points of contact downward. In the case of water, this effect is facilitated by the water’s surface tension.
In order to understand how spiders manage to stick to surfaces, you have to know about the different ways they do it. One method is by using a chemical called “gluey mucous”. Another is by using the electrostatic van der Waals forces. These forces combine to produce a strong overall force on the spider’s eight feet.
Other arachnids, such as the water strider, use fluid adhesives to stick to a variety of surfaces. Some species even have a very efficient respiratory system.
The smallest insect in the genus Arachnid is only 15 milligrams in mass. It is surprisingly small, but the setae (the tiny hairs on the spider’s legs) are so tiny that some are only visible under a microscope.
