How to Spin a Spider Web
One of nature's most beautiful and fragile creations is the spider web. We see them everywhere and probably take them completely for granted, never wondering how on earth they were made. Spider webs are like works of art. There are different types of webs and each one is unique, according to the spider who makes it. Read on to learn more.
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Instructions
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Examine the organs the spider uses to create silk for its web. In a spider's abdomen is an organ which takes protein and creates liquid silk. Each spider has between one and four pairs of glands containing perforated tubes known as spinnerets. The spider pushes the liquid silk out of the spinnerets and it dries upon contact with the air.
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Watch how a spider begins to spin a web. It sends a strand of sticky silk out and hopes for a breeze to catch it. When it brushes up against something solid and sticks the spider walks back and forth across the primary thread thickening the rope with more silk each time it crosses. The spider does this until the thread is strong enough to support the web's netting.
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Notice the meticulous system a spider uses to spin its web. After securing the primary thread, it weaves radials around the central point. The spider may use non-sticky thread for this or oils its legs with a substance from its mouth so it doesn't stick to its own web. The spider continues to spin several circular trails around the radials and then finishes the web from the outside working in.
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Study the silks used by the spider for its various purposes. The web itself isn't usually a sticky silk, but the thread it uses to catch and wrap its prey is very sticky. It uses a different type of silk to make a cocoon for its eggs. If a widely held belief is true, a rope of spider silk 1-inch thick could support a weight of 84,000 tons.
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Learn to recognize the different types of spider webs. One kind is the orb web, which is oval in shape. Funnel webs are usually on the ground, spun on long grasses or other supports. There are tangle webs (what we call cobwebs), tubular webs and sheet webs. A different type of spider makes each kind, and the structure varies with the purpose of the web.
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