How does a spider spin its web, where does spider silk come from? The incredible use of the web for medical purposes Where does the spider's web come from

The abdomen of a spider is a real "factory" for the production of webs. It is in it that the voluminous arachnoid glands are located, which produce a sticky secret that quickly hardens in the air. The abdominal limbs form a web thread, and movable web warts guide the thread to the right place.

The abdomen of spiders is movably connected to the cephalothorax by a thin bridge. Mobile and limbs, consisting of 7 segments. As a result, the spider's body is able to produce a web thread and quickly eliminate gaps in trapping net. Comb claws and bristles on the limbs help the spider to quickly slide along the web thread, like a wagon on rails, allowing it to appear in time at the place where the web breaks.

Why do spiders build a trapping web?

The ability to develop patina is not the main feature of spiders, however, weaving a trapping web has become hallmark arachnids. Spiders are real predators, waiting for their prey in a secluded place.

Due to the adhesive properties of the web, in spider webs a wide variety of animals are caught, ranging from insects and even small birds.

Having stuck to the web, the victim tries to get out of the trap, swinging the web thread. The vibrations that have arisen are transmitted along the signal thread to the spider, which quickly approaches the prey along the threads and injects the digestive juice, which, when it enters the victim, digests the internal contents. Then the spider braids it with a web, forming a kind of cocoon. It remains to wait a bit until the digestive enzymes make it possible to simply suck out the liquid contents.

Spiders need webs for reproduction.

During the breeding season, the web thread allocated by the female allows the partner to find an individual of the opposite sex for mating.

In the neighborhood of the nets of the female, the males construct miniature marriage laces, into which they lure the spiders for mating, rhythmically tapping their limbs.

Male cross-spiders attach their web to the radial threads in the trapping web of the female, placing it horizontally. The male then strikes with his limbs, causing hesitation. This is how spiders signal the female of their presence. The female does not show aggression in this case and descends to the male for mating along the attached web thread.

The web is a safe haven for offspring

The female lays her eggs after fertilization in a cobweb cocoon woven from one or more silky threads. The cocoon itself is formed by 2 plates - the main and covering plate, connected by their edges. This structure of the cocoon provides reliable protection eggs.

The female first weaves the main plate, similar to the spermatic web for eggs. From above wraps them with a second layer of cobwebs, which forms a covering plate. The shell of the cocoon is formed by silk threads tightly adjacent to each other and saturated with a frozen secret. The walls of the cocoon become very dense, almost like parchment. In some species of spiders, the female spins a loose cocoon, similar to a ball of cotton wool.

Web as a vehicle

Some types of spiders use webs to move through the air. Spiders climb higher on a tree, a fence, a high stone, the roof of a building, raising their abdomen, they release a sticky thread. It quickly freezes in the air and the spider, having unhooked, goes flying on a light cobweb, which is carried by the oncoming air flow. So young spiders get to new habitats.

There are known cases of the appearance of spiders on the deck of a sea vessel sailing in the open sea far from the coast.

Adult spiders in species with small sizes can also migrate. Spiders are able to rise with the help of a cobweb, picked up by the wind, to a height of up to 2-3 kilometers. Moreover, spiders most often make their travels on quiet and calm days of the "Indian" summer. They cover great distances.

How different types of spiders use the web

In nature, web spiders weaving trapping nets (nets) live, but non-net species are also known that hunt without using a cobweb. But they develop a web during periods of molts, rest, molts, wintering. Spiders weave protective bags or shelters woven from cobwebs.

Tenetnik spiders are saved when a predator approaches on a cobweb, falling down. When the danger has passed, they return back to the web thread and rise up, quickly winding their safety rope.

The web is needed for insurance

Jumping spiders use web thread to attack. They attach a safety thread to an object and jump on the intended victim. South Russian tarantula, leaving his hole, pulls a barely noticeable web thread along which he will always find the entrance to the abandoned shelter. When the insurance breaks, the tarantula is unable to find its mink and goes in search of a new one. Jumping spiders on cobwebs attached to the substrate spend the night. This is a kind of insurance against predators.

The main task of the web is to capture prey.

The web is used for lining

Tarantulas live in burrows, the walls of which are constantly crumbling, so these hairy spiders line the walls of their homes with cobwebs. This design protects the earthen walls from shedding. Spiders before entering their hole weave a variety of web structures in the form of funnels, tubes, movable lids that cover the entrance.

Spider bell for breathing

Silver spider hunts in water that you need to breathe atmospheric air. Sinking to the bottom, the spider captures a portion of air at the end of the abdomen in the form of a small bubble. On plants, he builds an air bell in which the air is held by a densely woven web.

The silver spider "seals" the oxygen molecule into a web under water, and thus breathes.

Web - to catch the victim

To catch prey, spiders weave trapping nets, but some species use spider lasso and threads.

Tarantulas, having caught prey, keep it in chelicerae, then pack the victim in a web.

Spiders that hide in the depths of the hole leave a signal thread. It stretches from the abdomen to the entrance to the shelter. The vibrations of this thread are transmitted to the spider, giving a signal that prey has been caught.

The web is produced not only by spiders, but they are the most widely used spider silk that the weaving of the web is their distinguishing feature.

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What is a web, quite clearly imagines, probably, every person. It is unlikely that there will be anyone who would not come across such “laces” in the forest or in their own house. However, in Everyday life people usually give little thought to how spiders make it. And the goals of creating networks are usually presented by people in a very truncated version. At the same time, the web can be considered one of the most amazing and mysterious natural phenomena.

What is a web and how is it made

Spiders are the only creatures that have special glands that are capable of secreting a liquid of incredible composition. It hardens almost instantly upon contact with air - there is not much time for the spider to weave a web from it. Moreover, the allocated secret is of two types. One so-called dry - the basis of "lace" is created from it. The second one has increased stickiness - the spider processes its creation with it so that the insect that touched it could not get out of the trap.

What are networks for?

Having understood what a web is, let's figure out for what purposes it is created. Contrary to general delusions spider "laces" are used by no means only for hunting, although this is the prevailing task. However, there are others.

1. Cocoons are woven from the web, in which the spider lays her eggs.
2. Prey is wrapped in it for storage in reserve.
3. Wintering houses are built from nets; those of the spiders that wait out the cold in earthen burrows make a very ingenious door-lid that closes the entrance.
4. The female entering the mating season signals this to potential partners and points the way to herself with the help of a thread impregnated with pheromones.
5. juveniles certain types moving to new hunting grounds on a long thread carried by the wind.

So the web is a very important and multifunctional part of the life of arachnids.

Curious facts

The web is still not fully understood by scientists. And repeat this natural phenomenon modern science is not yet able to do so.

1. The spider's web is simply amazingly strong. If such threads were woven into a net the size of a football field, it could stop a flying Boeing. AT South America there are cobweb bridges along which monkeys cross the gorges, and fish are caught in nets from cobwebs.
2. Spider "lace" has electrostatic properties, which allows its threads to rush to flying past prey.
3. Many spiders eat their old webs.
4. The web is considered almost the lightest material in the world: if you stretch it along the entire equator, it would weigh only 340 grams.

Or adverse conditions. It should be noted that trapping net spiders are also often referred to as cobwebs.

spider web

Composition, isolation and properties

The web of spiders is a protein rich in glycine, alanine and serine. Inside the spider gland, it exists in liquid form. When selected through numerous spinning tubes opening on the surface arachnoid warts, there is a change in the structure of the protein, as a result of which it hardens in the form of thin micrometer filaments. Inside the threads there are rigid protein crystals several nanometers in size, interconnected by elastic protein ligaments. Subsequently, the spider intertwines these primary threads into a thicker arachnoid fiber.

In terms of strength, the web is close to nylon and is much stronger than the secret of insects similar in composition to it (for example, caterpillars). According to one assumption, the differences are due to the fact that spiders form a fiber by hanging on it.

The web maintains its tension both when the threads are stretched and compressed.

Other unusual property cobwebs - internal hinge: an object suspended on a cobweb fiber can be rotated indefinitely in the same direction, and at the same time it will not only not twist, but will not create a noticeable counterforce at all.

Functions

The most famous use of the web by spiders is the construction of trapping nets, which, depending on the structure, are able to completely immobilize prey, make it difficult to move, or only signal its appearance. Caught prey spiders are also often wrapped in a web.

The development of eggs and juveniles takes place in the arachnoid egg cocoon, which in some spiders is very complex, with protective barriers around.

In some species, the female secretes a thread marked with pheromones during the breeding season, which the male uses when looking for a partner. In this regard, although even among the most archaic arthropod spiders there are representatives that form signal fibers for hunting, it is considered [by whom?] that the primary function of the web of spiders is connected precisely with reproduction, and not with the extraction of food. As the main argument in favor of this hypothesis, the initial confinement of arachnoid warts to the region of the genital openings is considered.

Many spiders braid the walls of the mink with it.

One of the most interesting applications cobwebs turn out to be the formation of safety threads that prevent an unsuccessful fall when jumping, and "gliders" with the help of which juveniles can spread with air currents.

Disposal

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Notes

Literature

• Large encyclopedic Dictionary"Biology". - ed. M. S. Gilyarova, M.: Great Russian Encyclopedia, 1998. ISBN 5-85270-252-8.
• Invertebrate Zoology, Vol. 1: From Protozoa to Mollusks and Arthropods, ed. W. Westheide and R. Rieger. M.: T-vo scientific publications KMK, 2008.
• Ruppert E.E., Fox R.S., Barnes R.D. Invertebrate zoology. T. 3: Arthropods. M. "Academy", 2008.

Links

• (The article is quantitative analysis structures of cobwebs according to their photographs)

Natural (natural) Animals mineral Chemical artificial Synthetic Inorganic

An excerpt characterizing the Web

Dolokhov slammed the bureau shut and turned to Anatole with a mocking smile.
- And you know what - drop it all: there is still time! - he said.
- Fool! Anatole said. - Stop talking nonsense. If you only knew... The devil knows what it is!
“Damn right,” said Dolokhov. - I'm talking to you. Is this a joke you're up to?
- Well, again, teasing again? Went to hell! Huh?... – Anatole said with a frown. “The right is not up to your stupid jokes. And he left the room.
Dolokhov smiled contemptuously and condescendingly when Anatole left.
“Wait a minute,” he said after Anatole, “I’m not joking, I’m talking business, come, come here.
Anatole again entered the room and, trying to concentrate his attention, looked at Dolokhov, obviously involuntarily submitting to him.
- You listen to me, I'll tell you last time I say. What should I joke with you? Did I cross you? Who arranged everything for you, who found the priest, who took the passport, who got the money? All I.
- Well, thank you. Do you think I'm not grateful to you? Anatole sighed and hugged Dolokhov.
- I helped you, but still I have to tell you the truth: the matter is dangerous and, if you take it apart, stupid. Well, you'll take her away, okay. Will they leave it like that? It turns out that you are married. After all, you will be brought to criminal court ...
– Ah! stupidity, stupidity! - Anatole spoke again, grimacing. “Because I told you. BUT? - And Anatole, with that special predilection (which stupid people have) for the conclusion that they reach with their own mind, repeated the reasoning that he repeated a hundred times to Dolokhov. “After all, I explained to you, I decided: if this marriage is invalid,” he said, bending his finger, “then I do not answer; Well, if it's real, it doesn't matter: no one abroad will know this, right? And don't talk, don't talk, don't talk!
- Right, come on! You only bind yourself...
“Go to hell,” said Anatole, and, holding his hair, went out into another room and immediately returned and sat down with his feet on an armchair close to Dolokhov. “The devil knows what it is!” BUT? Look how it beats! - He took Dolokhov's hand and put it to his heart. - Ah! quel pied, mon cher, quel regard! Une deesse!! [O! What a leg, my friend, what a look! Goddess!!] Huh?
Dolokhov, smiling coldly and shining with his beautiful, insolent eyes, looked at him, apparently wanting to still have some fun with him.
- Well, the money will come out, then what?
- What then? BUT? - Anatole repeated with sincere bewilderment at the thought of the future. - What then? There I don’t know what… Well, what nonsense to say! He looked at his watch. - It's time!
Anatole went into the back room.
– Well, will you soon? Dig in here! he shouted at the servants.
Dolokhov took away the money and, shouting to a man to order food and drink for the road, entered the room where Khvostikov and Makarin were sitting.
Anatole was lying in the study, leaning on his arm, on the sofa, smiling thoughtfully and softly whispering something to himself with his beautiful mouth.
- Go eat something. Well, have a drink! Dolokhov shouted to him from another room.
- I do not want! - Anatole answered, still smiling.
- Go, Balaga has arrived.
Anatole got up and went into the dining room. Balaga was a well-known troika driver who had known Dolokhov and Anatole for six years and served them with his troikas. More than once, when Anatole's regiment was stationed in Tver, he took him away from Tver in the evening, delivered him to Moscow by dawn, and took him away the next day at night. More than once he took Dolokhov away from the chase, more than once he drove them around the city with gypsies and ladies, as Balaga called. More than once, with their work, he crushed the people and cabbies around Moscow, and his gentlemen, as he called them, always rescued him. He drove more than one horse under them. More than once he was beaten by them, more than once they made him drunk with champagne and Madeira, which he loved, and he knew more than one thing behind each of them, which to an ordinary person Siberia would have long deserved. In their carousing, they often called Balaga, forced him to drink and dance with the gypsies, and more than one thousand of their money passed through his hands. Serving them, he risked both his life and his skin twenty times a year, and at their work he died more horses than they paid him more money. But he loved them, he loved this crazy ride, at eighteen miles an hour, he loved to overturn a cab and crush a pedestrian in Moscow, and fly at full speed through Moscow streets. He loved to hear this wild cry of drunken voices behind him: “Let's go! gone!” while it was already impossible to go any faster; he liked to stretch painfully up the neck of the peasant, who, in any case, was neither dead nor alive, shunned him. "Real gentlemen!" he thought.
Anatole and Dolokhov also loved Balaga for his driving skills and for the fact that he loved the same thing as they did. Balaga dressed up with others, took twenty-five rubles for a two-hour ride, and with others he only occasionally went himself, and mostly sent his fellows. But with his masters, as he called them, he always rode himself and never demanded anything for his work. Only when he found out through the valets the time when there was money, he came in the morning sober once every few months and, bowing low, asked to help him out. It was always planted by the gentlemen.
“Release me, father Fyodor Ivanovich or your excellency,” he said. - I completely lost my horses, you can go to the fair, lend what you can.
Both Anatole and Dolokhov, when they were in money, gave him a thousand and two rubles each.
Balaga was fair-haired, with a red face and especially a red, thick neck, a squat, snub-nosed peasant, about twenty-seven, with small shining eyes and a small beard. He was dressed in a thin blue caftan lined with silk, worn over a sheepskin coat.
He crossed himself at the front corner and went up to Dolokhov, holding out his small black hand.
- Fyodor Ivanovich! he said, bowing.
- Good, brother. - Well, here he is.
“Hello, Your Excellency,” he said to Anatole, who was entering, and also held out his hand.
“I’m telling you, Balaga,” Anatole said, putting his hands on his shoulders, “do you love me or not?” BUT? Now serve the service ... On which ones did you come? BUT?
- As the ambassador ordered, on your animals, - said Balaga.
- Well, you hear, Balaga! Slaughter all three, and to arrive at three o'clock. BUT?
- How will you slaughter, what will we ride? Balaga said, winking.
- Well, I'll break your face, don't joke! - Anatole suddenly shouted, rolling his eyes.
“What a joke,” said the coachman, laughing. “Will I be sorry for my masters? What urine will ride horses, then we will go.
- BUT! Anatole said. - Well, sit down.
- Well, sit down! Dolokhov said.
- I'll wait, Fyodor Ivanovich.
“Sit down, lie, drink,” Anatole said and poured him a large glass of Madeira. The coachman's eyes lit up with wine. Refusing for the sake of decency, he drank and dried himself with a red silk handkerchief that lay in his hat.
- Well, when to go then, Your Excellency?
- Yes, here ... (Anatole looked at his watch) now and go. Look, Balaga. BUT? Are you up to speed?
- Yes, how is the departure - will he be happy, otherwise why not be in time? Balaga said. - Delivered to Tver, at seven o'clock they kept up. Do you remember, Your Excellency.
“You know, I once went from Tver to Christmas,” Anatole said with a smile of recollection, turning to Makarin, who looked with tender eyes at Kuragin. - Do you believe, Makarka, that it was breathtaking how we flew. We drove into the convoy, jumped over two carts. BUT?
- There were horses! Balaga continued. “Then I banned the young slaves to kaury,” he turned to Dolokhov, “do you believe it, Fyodor Ivanovich, the animals flew 60 miles away; you can’t hold it, your hands were stiff, it was cold. He threw the reins, hold, they say, Your Excellency, himself, and so he fell into the sleigh. So after all, not only to drive, you can’t keep to the place. At three o'clock they told the devil. Only the left one died.

Anatole left the room and a few minutes later returned in a fur coat girded with a silver belt and a sable hat, smartly put on the hips and very much going to him. beautiful face. After looking in the mirror and in the same position that he took in front of the mirror, standing in front of Dolokhov, he took a glass of wine.
“Well, Fedya, goodbye, thanks for everything, goodbye,” said Anatole. - Well, comrades, friends ... he thought ... - youth ... my, goodbye, - he turned to Makarin and others.
Despite the fact that they all rode with him, Anatole apparently wanted to do something touching and solemn from this appeal to his comrades. He spoke in a slow, loud voice and wiggled his chest with one leg. – Everyone take glasses; and you, Balaga. Well, comrades, friends of my youth, we drank, we lived, we drank. BUT? Now, when shall we meet? I will go abroad. Live, farewell, guys. For health! Hurrah! .. - he said, drank his glass and slammed it on the ground.

Representatives of the arachnid order can be found everywhere. They are predators that prey on insects. They catch their prey with the help of a web. This is a flexible and durable fiber, to which flies, bees, mosquitoes stick. How a spider weaves a web, this question is often asked at the sight of an amazing trapping web.

What is a web?

Spiders are one of the oldest inhabitants of the planet, due to small size and specific appearance they are mistakenly considered insects. In fact, these are representatives of the order of arthropods. The body of a spider has eight legs and two sections:

• cephalothorax;
• abdomen.

Unlike insects, they do not have antennae and a neck that separates the head from the chest. The belly of an arachnid is a kind of web factory. It contains glands that produce a secret consisting of a protein enriched with alanine, which gives strength, and glycine, which is responsible for elasticity. According to the chemical formula, the web is close to the silk of insects. Inside the glands, the secret is in a liquid state, and hardens in the air.

Information. caterpillar silk silkworm and cobwebs have a similar composition - 50% is fibroin protein. Scientists have found that the thread of a spider is much stronger than the secret of caterpillars. This is due to the peculiarity of fiber formation

Where does a spider's web come from?

On the abdomen of an arthropod there are outgrowths - arachnoid warts. In their upper part, the channels of the arachnoid glands that form the threads open. There are 6 types of glands that produce silk for different purposes (moving, lowering, entangling prey, storing eggs). In one species, all these organs do not occur simultaneously; usually, an individual has 1-4 pairs of glands.

On the surface of the warts, there are up to 500 spinning tubes that supply a protein secret. A spider spins a web like this:

• spider warts are pressed against the base (tree, grass, wall, etc.);
• a small amount of protein sticks to the chosen place;
• the spider moves away, pulling the thread with its hind legs;
• for the main work, long and flexible front legs are used, with their help a frame is created from dry threads;
• the final stage in the manufacture of the network is the formation of sticky spirals.

Thanks to the observations of scientists, it became known where the spider's web comes from. It is released by mobile paired warts on the abdomen.

Interesting fact. The web is very light, the weight of the thread that wrapped the Earth around the equator would be only 450 g.

The spider pulls the thread from the abdomen

How a trapping network is built

The wind is the spider's best assistant in construction. Taking a thin thread from the warts, the arachnid puts it under the air current, which carries the stiffened silk to a considerable distance. This is the secret way how a spider weaves a web between trees. The web easily clings to tree branches, using it as a rope, the arachnid moves from place to place.

In the structure of the web, one can trace definite schema. It is based on a frame of strong and thick threads arranged in the form of rays radiating from one point. Starting from the outer part, the spider creates circles, gradually moving towards the center. Surprisingly, without any adaptations, it maintains the same distance between each circle. This part of the fibers is sticky, it is in it that insects will get stuck.

Interesting fact. The spider eats its own web. Scientists offer two explanations for this fact - in this way, the loss of protein is replenished during the repair of the trapping network, or the spider simply drinks water hanging on silk threads.

The complexity of the web design depends on the type of arachnid. The lower arthropods build simple networks, while the higher ones build complex geometric patterns. Estimated to build a trap of 39 radii and 39 spirals. In addition to smooth radial threads, auxiliary and trapping spirals, there are signal threads. These elements capture and transmit to the predator the vibration of the caught prey. If a foreign object (a branch, a leaf) comes across, the small owner separates it and throws it away, then restores the network.

Large tree arachnids pull traps up to 1 m in diameter. Not only insects, but also small birds get into them.

How long does a spider spin a web?

The predator spends from half an hour to 2-3 hours to create an openwork trap for insects. Its operating time depends on weather conditions and planned network sizes. Some species weave silk threads daily, either in the morning or in the evening, depending on their lifestyle. One of the factors for how much a spider weaves a web is its appearance - flat or voluminous. A flat one is a familiar version of radial threads and spirals, and a voluminous one is a trap made from a lump of fibers.

The purpose of the web

Thin nets are not only traps for insects. The role of the web in the life of arachnids is much wider.

Catching prey

All spiders are predators that kill their prey with poison. At the same time, some individuals have a fragile physique and can themselves become a victim of insects, for example, wasps. They need shelter and a trap to hunt. Sticky fibers perform this function. Once caught in the net, they envelop the prey in a cocoon of threads and leave it until the injected enzyme brings it to a liquid state.

Silk fibers of arachnids are thinner human hair, but their specific tensile strength is comparable to that of steel wire.

reproduction

During the mating season, males attach their own threads to the female's web. Inflicting rhythmic blows on the silk fibers, they inform the potential partner of their intentions. The courting female descends into the male's territory to mate. In some species, the initiator of the search for a partner is the female. She secretes a thread with pheromones, thanks to which the spider finds her.

home for posterity

Cocoons for eggs are woven from silk cobwebs. Their number, depending on the type of arthropods, is 2-1000 pieces. Spider sacs with female eggs are hung in a safe place. The shell of the cocoon is strong enough, it consists of several layers and is saturated with a liquid secret.

In their burrow, arachnids weave the walls with cobwebs. This helps to create a favorable microclimate, serves as protection from bad weather and natural enemies.

moving

One of the answers why a spider spins a web is that it uses the threads as vehicle. To move between trees and bushes, to quickly understand and descend, it needs strong fibers. For flights over long distances, spiders climb to elevations, release a quickly solidifying web, and then, with a gust of wind, are carried away for several kilometers. Most trips are made on warm, clear days. Indian summer.

Why doesn't a spider stick to its web?

In order not to fall into its own trap, the spider makes several dry threads for movement. I am well versed in the intricacies of networks, he safely approaches the stuck prey. Usually in the center of the trapping net there is a safe area where the predator is waiting for prey.

The interest of scientists in the interaction of arachnids with their hunting traps appeared more than 100 years ago. Initially, it was suggested that their paws had a special lubricant on them to prevent sticking. The theory has never been confirmed. Shooting with a special camera of the movement of the spider's legs along the fibers from the frozen secret gave an explanation for the mechanism of contact.

A spider does not stick to its web for three reasons:

• many elastic hairs on its paws reduce the area of ​​​​contact with the sticky spiral;
• the tips of spider legs are covered with an oily liquid;
• movement occurs in a special way.

What secret of the structure of the legs helps arachnids avoid sticking? On each leg of the spider there are two supporting claws with which it clings to the surface, and one flexible claw. When moving, he presses the threads to the flexible hairs on the foot. When the spider raises its paw, the claw straightens and the hairs repel the web.

Another explanation is the lack of direct contact between the arachnid's leg and the sticky droplets. They fall on the hairs of the foot, and then easily flow back onto the thread. Whatever theories zoologists consider, the fact remains that spiders do not become prisoners of their own sticky traps.

Other arachnids can also weave webs - ticks and false scorpions. But their webs cannot be compared in strength and skillful weaving with the works of true masters - spiders. modern science not yet able to reproduce the web synthetically. The technology of making spider silk remains one of the mysteries of nature.

As a spider weaves a web, experts shot a video where you can see in detail the actions of an arthropod. The ability to weave an openwork fabric, funnel-shaped nets, cocoons for larvae is transmitted genetically. The young spider repeats all the actions of his mother, never seeing how it is done. Spiders make the web different in shape, size, structure, used for different purposes.

Spider web composition

It is the secret of the spider glands. After isolation, it stretches, hardens in the form of thin threads. In the future, they are intertwined, made stronger. Used to form a pattern or as a building material.

What does the spider's web consist of - a protein enriched with alanine, serine, glycine. Inside the spider gland, the substance is in liquid form. In the process of passing through the spinning tubes, it hardens, turns into a thread.

Where does the spider web come from - from warts located near the genitals. A crystalline protein is formed inside the thread, which increases the strength and flexibility of the fibers. Depending on the purpose for which the web will be used, the thickness and strength change.

Interesting!

The strength of the spider's web is close to nylon, it retains tension when stretching, compressing the threads. An object suspended on a long web can be rotated for a long time in one direction, it will not get tangled, it will not even show resistance when moving. Thanks to this feature, the spider can hang in the air for a long time, attaching the end to the plant, as well as over long distances with the help of gusts of wind.

Why does a spider weave a web - main functions

The web is allocated not arbitrarily, but when the need arises. Different people use threads for different purposes, but absolutely all females use a special secret to attract males.

• If you carefully consider where the female releases the web, you will notice that the warts with a secret are located near the genitals. A sexually mature female additionally releases odorous substances, the smell of which is captured by the male.
• The family weaves trapping nets. The creation of large specimens within a radius reaches 2 m. The density of the canvas is such that a bird, a small rodent, and amphibians get entangled in it. Insects and their larvae get entangled in the nets.
• Soil, underground specimens build burrows in the ground with numerous labyrinths. Trapping nets do not build, but protect the entrance with a cobweb, pull signal threads. By their vibration, they determine the approach of a potential victim, they instantly go hunting.
• Spiders live apart, gathering in pairs only for mating. Possessions are divided, when borders are violated, deadly contractions. For resettlement, development of a new area, the spider weaves a strong long thread, attaches it to a leaf, twig, goes down, waits for a gust of wind. Through the air, an arthropod can fly several hundred kilometers or land under a neighboring bush. Active migration begins after the birth of a young generation of spiders.
• After fertilization, the female begins to form a cocoon from the web. Lays inside from 50 to 1000 eggs. It fixes in a secluded place or drags along the entire period of development of the larvae.
• From strong threads, the arachnid builds a house for itself, a shelter for wintering. Unique creature - , builds a nest underwater. Initially, it weaves a house of threads, fills it with air, lives inside, lets the male into mating season, hatches cubs there, drags inside the caught victim.
• A predator wraps its prey in a web after injecting a toxin. After that, he leaves the prey, watches it aside until the convulsions stop. If the predator is not hungry, it hangs the caught prey on a web in a secluded place in reserve.
• Some species of arthropods wrap leaves with cobwebs, stretch out a long thread, pull it to divert the attention of predators from their shelter. They make a puppet, which is then skillfully controlled. Some more craftsmen weave a raft from improvised means, float on the surface of the water, catch fry, larvae, and crustaceans.

The spider leaves the trapping nets with significant damage to the threads by insects. Starts forming a new canvas after 12 victims caught.

On a note!

The arthropod often eats its invention. This phenomenon is explained by the replenishment of the body with protein, the presence of moisture that accumulates on the canvas due to dew.

How a spider spins a web

Many arachnids lead night image life, engaged in "weaving" in dark time days. How long a spider weaves a web depends on the type of arthropod. On average, the orb weaver takes about 1 hour to form strong trapping nets. If reconstruction is required, the process takes a few minutes.

How quickly a spider spins a web can be seen in the video below. This arthropod does this automatically, each time repeating the same pattern. The most attractive are the openwork patterns of the orbs. Initially, a strong web is taken, stretched in the shape of a triangle, then cells of different sizes are formed.

Interesting!

Spider web living in tropical forests Brazil, so durable that it is used by local fishermen to catch fish. The threads are used to weave a thin, but very durable fabric. Kraig Biocraft manufactures bulletproof vests from natural raw materials of spiders.

How a spider weaves a web between trees can be seen in the garden, in conditions wildlife. Openwork fabric or funnel sparkles in the sun, attracts insects. But the process itself, like a spider pulling a web between two trees, deserves admiration. Initially, the predator descends, waits for a gust of wind, moves through the air to a neighboring tree, and fixes the second end there. Then the matter remains small.

During the flight, the spider controls the speed by adjusting the length of the thread. When elongated, it moves slower; when contracted, it moves faster. To land, you need to throw a web on a plant, tree.