What are spider webs made of? And how do they spin them?

How do spiders make their webs? ... Spiders have structures called spinnerets on their abdomen, usually on the underside to the rear. These are the silk-spinning ... Opensinanewwindow Acceptcookies? Weusecookies togiveyouthebestonlineexperience.Weusethemtoimproveourwebsiteandcontent,andtotailorourdigitaladvertisingonthird-partyplatforms.Youcanchangeyourpreferencesatanytime.  Managemypreferences Yes,acceptall Skiptocontent Awaspspider(Argiopebruennichi)onitsorbweb ©AlisLuch/Shutterstock.com BRITISHWILDLIFE Whatarespiderwebsmadeof?Andhowdotheyspinthem? Author: ByLisaHendry 47 Findouthowweb-spinningspidersdowhattheydoandlearnabouttheimpressive,multipurposematerialtheyusetocatchtheirdinner. Spidersmaketheirwebsfromsilk,anaturalfibremadeofprotein. Notonlydoesspidersilkcombinetheusefulpropertiesofhightensilestrengthandextensibility,itcanbebeautifulinitsownright. Jansays,'Silkisanamazingmaterial.Goldensilkorb-weavers,whicharefoundinwarmregionsaroundtheworld-butnottheUK,unfortunately-spinwebswithalovelygoldensheen.TheirsilkhasevenbeenusedtocreateashimmeringgoldencapethatwasexhibitedattheVictoriaandAlbertMuseumin2012.'  UKspiderstendtoproducesilkthatiswhiteorhasabluishhue. Therearesevendifferentsilkglands,whichproducesilkwithdifferentcharacteristicsanduses. Forexamplecribellatesilkisverywoolly. JanBeccaloni,theMuseum'sarachnidcurator,adds,'CribellatesilkactslikeVelcro,stickingtothelegsandbristlesofcapturedinsects.' Eachtypeofsilkglandisassociatedwithaparticularspinneret.Nospecieshasallseven,butorb-webweavershavefive. Goldensilkorb-weavers(Nephilaspecies)spinsilkwithabrilliantyellowcolour ©ClaireECarter/Shutterstock.com Agoldencapewovenfromspidersilk,whichwasexhibitedattheVictoriaandAlbertMuseumin2012 ©Cmglee(CCBY-SA3.0),viaWikimediaCommons Howdospidersmaketheirwebs? Aspiderspinningsilktomakeitsweb,pullingthethreadoutwithitshindleg ©IanFletcher/Shutterstock.com Spidershavestructurescalledspinneretsontheirabdomen,usuallyontheundersidetotherear.Thesearethesilk-spinningorgans.Differentspecieshavedifferentnumbersofspinnerets,butmosthaveacluster. Attheendofeachspinneretisacollectionofspigots,nozzle-likestructures.Asinglesilkthreadcomesoutofeach. Janexplains,'Althoughitlooksabitlikeanicingnozzle,thesilkispulledoutbygravityorthespider'shindleg.Thesilkisliquidwhenit'sinsidethespider.' Beforeitisextrudedoutofthespinneret,cribellatesilkfirstpassesthroughasieve-likestructurecalledthecribellum.Spidersthatmakethistypeofsilkalsohavearowofspecialisedlegbristlescalledthecalamistrum,whichcombsthesilkoutandgivesitthedifferent,woollytexture. Spidersthenfollowvariouspatternsofactivitytoconstructtheirwebs,dependingonwhatspeciesitis.It'sfascinatingtowatch. Doallspidersmakewebs? Althoughwebsarethemostwell-knownuseforspidersilk,notallspidersmakewebstocatchtheirprey.Infact,lessthanhalfofthe37spiderfamiliesinBritaindo. Otherspiders,suchascrabspidersinthefamilyThomisidae,are'sitandwait'predators-forexampleMisumenavatialurksonflowerheads,waitingtoambushingvisitinginsects.Others,suchasjumpingspidersinthefamilySaltidae,activelyfollowtheirpreyandcatchitbyleapingonit. Acrabspider, Misumenavatia, ambushingpreyfromitsflowervantagepoint. ImagecourtesyofPixabay(CC0). Ajumpingspider, Salticusscenicus,attackingafly ©AdamOpiola(CCBY-SA4.0),viaWikimediaCommons Somespiderseveninvadeotherwebstofindtheirfood.Thepiratespiders,ofwhichtherearefourUKspeciesinthegenus Ero,goontoanotherspider'swebandmimicthebehaviourofitspreytolurethespidercloser.Whentheweb'sownerinvestigates,thepiratespiderattacks. Silk:amultipurposematerial Ajumpingspiderpeersoutofitssilkcellhidingplace ©JudyGallagher(CCBY2.0),viaFlickr However,evenspidersthatdon'tmakewebshaveusesforsilk,includingcreatingmoultingplatforms,spermwebsformales,andretreats. Janadds,'Jumpingspiders,forexample,makelittlesilkencellsinwhichtohideinduringtheday-abitlikeasleepingbag.' Mostspidersusesilktowraptheireggs. Anothercommonuseforsilkisasadragline.Everysooftenaspiderattachesathreadofsilktosomething,likeananchor,sothatifitfalls,itwon'tfalltoofarandcandragitselfbackuptothepreviousposition. Ballooningisanotherspectacularuseforsilk,allowingthemassdispersalofspiderlingsandsmalladults. Afterclimbingtoarelativelyhighpoint,thespiderpointsitsabdomenskywardsandpullsoutonetoseveralthreads.Whenairorelectrostaticcurrentscarrythethreadsupwards,thespiderfollows.Theycanbecarriedmanythousandsofmetres. Afieldcoatedinsilkafteramassdispersalofspidersbyballooning ©StephenMichaelBarnett(CCBY2.0),viaFlickr Moneyspidermassdispersalsinparticularmakequiteasight.Sometimesthenumbersinvolvedcanleaveanentirefieldcoatedingossamerthreads. Jansays,'Notallspidersdispersethisway,butit'sthereasonspidersaresomeofthefirstcreaturestocolonisenewislands.' Morespiderwebfacts Nowthatyouknowhowspidersmaketheirwebs,discovertheirimpressivevariety.Britishspiderwebscanbegroupedintosevenbroadtypesbasedontheirarchitecture:orb,sheet,tangle,funnel,lace,radialandpurse.Butevenwithineachgroup,differentspeciesputtheirownspinonthestyle. Thedivingbellspider(Argyronetaaquatica)probablyhasthemostunusualuseforitsweb,whichenablesittospendmostofitslifeunderwater-auniqueabilityamongspiders. Itconstructsanetofsilkbetweensubmergedvegetationandusesittogatherabubbleofair-itsveryowndivingbell. Viewthecommonstylesofwebandthespidersthatmakethem> 47 Britishwildlife Spiders Biodiversity WhatonEarth? DiscovermoreaboutspidersandBritishwildlife Britishwildlife Spiderwebs:notjustforHalloween Exploresevencommonstylesofspiderwebanddiscoverthearachnidsthatmakethem. Britishwildlife Findingloveontheweb Spidersmayseemscary,butmostofthemarejustlookingforlove.Readsomedatingprofilesofspiderssearchingfortheperfectmate. Britishwildlife AyearofBritishgardenwildlife JointheteamfromBBCTVprogrammeTheBritishGarden:LifeandDeathonYourLawntouncoversomeofthehiddenwildlifeyoucouldspotthroughouttheyear. Britishwildlife Howdangerousarefalsewidowspiders? Everyautumntherearereportsoffalsewidowspidersbecominguninvitedeight-leggedhouseguestsacrosstheUK. Don'tmissathing Getemailupdatesaboutournews,science,exhibitions,events,products,servicesandfundraisingactivities.Youmustbeovertheageof13.Privacynotice. Firstname Surname Emailaddress Signup Followusonsocialmedia