How Heavy Can Spiders Lift?
Spiders can lift heavy things. This is largely thanks to their webs. They can use their own silk to weave a strong and durable web that can hold up to 50% of their own weight. This makes spiders a lot more formidable than they appear.
A 50 pound child could lift 400 pounds with ease, and the average adult spider can hold up to 170 times its own weight. The tarantula is one of the largest insects on the planet, and it can do some pretty impressive lifting. The Black Widow is also known for its impressive strength. It is able to drag prey back to its web, incapacitating its victims.
There are many species of spiders, and each has its own lifting capabilities. The tangle-web spider, for instance, can lift up to fifty times its own weight with the aid of its silk pulleys.
While the aforementioned is true for most spiders, the jumping spider can actually lift up to 170 times its own weight. It is considered the world’s strongest spider. The Californian trap-door spider is able to keep its trap door closed 38 times its own weight, and it can also build underground living areas.
The spider-lifting capacity of a black widow is a little more controversial. While no one has ever verified the actual weight of a black widow, the spiders that drag their victims back to the web are said to be a few inches and a half in length. It’s unclear what the maximum prey weight is for the spider, but its venom is said to be 15 times stronger than rattlesnake venom.