How Spiders Move Their Webs
WouterSpiders use their webs to catch insects for food. In addition, spiders recycle their silk for new webs. They also use other spiders’ webs to find prey.
Spiders build webs to protect their dwellings and to catch insects for food. They work from inside out, building a new web every day. They can move quickly, so they have a lot of flexibility. They can travel between trees, and they can travel through huge gaps in the ground.
Orb weavers are spiders that produce large webs. These webs are primarily made from dragline silk and a glue-like substance. They can be a few feet in diameter. The silk that makes up an orb web starts out as liquid. It solidifies in the air. This allows the orb weavers to walk along the smooth “spokes” of the orb.
When an orb weaver creates a web, it uses spinnerets to produce silk. These glands are located in the abdomen. These glands secrete proteins, which are extruded through the spinnerets to form the silk. The orb weaver then binds the spinnerets together with adhesive threads. The sticky coating is applied to certain threads, but not others. The sticky coating helps the spider to stick to the web and makes it easier for the spider to move around.
The spiders also use the webs as a physical extension of their senses. They can detect vibrations in the air from falling insects. They can also use the webs as sails. They will sometimes balloon their webs to go somewhere else.
