How does a spider weave a spider web? Why do spider web?

Despite all the dislike of mankind for spiders, as well as the abundance of prejudices and terrible stories associated with them, the question of how a spider weaves a spider web appears in children almost simultaneously with interest, why the grass is green and the water is wet. The result of the labor of these unattractive animals really often resembles an elegant lace. And if the spiders themselves are unpleasant to look at, and many are even afraid of them, the web created by them involuntarily attracts attention and causes sincere admiration.

Meanwhile, not everyone knows that such "curtains" are woven by not all representatives of the detachment. Almost each species is able to create a thread for the base, but the trapping networks are weaved only by those that hunt for traps. They are called tenet. They are even isolated in a separate superfamily "Araneoidea". And the names of spiders that weave hunting networks number as much as 2308 points, among which are poisonous - the same black widow and karakurt. Those who hunt, attack from an ambush or track down prey, use cobwebs exclusively for domestic purposes.

Unique qualities of spider "textiles"

Despite the small size of the creators, the peculiarities of the web cause some envy on the part of the crown of nature - man. Some of its parameters are incredible, even with the achievements of modern science.

1. Strength. The web can break from its weight only if the spider wicks it out 50 meters long.
2. Exceptional fineness. A separate cobweb is noticeable only when it hits a ray of light.
3. Elasticity and elasticity. The yarn is stretched 2-4 times without breaking, without loss of strength.

And all these qualities are achieved without any technical equipment - the spider manages what nature provided it.

Types of cobwebs

It is interesting not only how the spider weaves the web, but also that it manages to produce its different "varieties". Roughly speaking, they can be divided into three types:

1. Strong - produced only by tempters and form the basis of trap networks.
2. Sticky. Of these, the jumpers are all in the same networks, and are glued at the slightest touch, and so that it is very difficult to remove them.
3. Household. From them, spiders create cocoons and "doors" for mink. And they still come in several types, because they are produced in different degrees of softness and fluffiness.

Scientists also distinguish another kind of web, which mirrors the ultraviolet, beckoning butterflies. Many believe that the ready-made web necessarily has its own pattern. However, this is not so: the names of spiders capable of creative delights can be counted without much difficulty, and all such artists belong to the araneomorphic representatives of this detachment of arthropods.

What is it for?

If you ask a person the question of why a spider webs, he will answer without any doubts: for hunting. But this does not exhaust its functions. In addition, it is used in the following areas:

• For warming the burrows before wintering;
• To create cocoons in which the offspring mature;
• To protect it from rain - spiders make a sort of awnings to prevent water from entering the "house";
• for traveling. Some spiders migrate themselves and are evacuated from the bosom of a family of children on long cobwebs carried away by the wind.

Formation of building material

So, let's figure out how the spider weaves the web. On the abdomen, the "weaver" has six glands, which are considered to be the transformed rudiments of the legs. Inside the calf, a special secret is developed, which is commonly called liquid silk. At the exit through the spinning tubes it begins to harden. One such thread is so thin that it is difficult to discern even under a microscope. Paws, located closer to the "working" glands at the moment, the spider twists several threads into one spider web - approximately the way women did in the old days when spinning from tow. It is at that moment, as the spider weaves the web, that the main characteristic of the future web is laid-stickiness or increased strength. And what the mechanism of choice, the scientists have not yet figured out.

Stretching technology

The adept network for its effectiveness should be between something stretched - for example, between branches. When the first thread is created by its creator long enough, it stops spinning and spins the spinning organs. So he catches a breeze. The slightest wiggling of the wind (even from the heated earth) relates the spider web to the neighboring "support", for which it also clings. The spider on the "bridge" moves (most often sagging backwards) and begins to weave a new radial thread. Only when the base is fixed, it begins to move along the circumference, weaving into it sticky transverse lines. I must say, spiders are very economical creatures. They eat unnecessary damaged or old cobwebs, letting "recyclable" into the second round of use. And the old one becomes, according to the creator, quite quickly, as the spider weaves the web often every day (or night if it is a twilight hunter).

What do spiders eat

A fundamentally important issue, since the spider weaves the webs, first of all, for the production of food. Note that all types of spiders, without exception, are predators. However, their diet is highly dependent on the size, methods of hunting and the place of residence. All tenet (weaving networks) spiders are insectivorous, and in the basis of their diet are predominantly flying forms. Although if a creeping character falls on the cobweb of a tree, its owner will not disdain them. Those who live in the mink and close to the ground, eat mostly orthopterans and beetles, although they can drag into their shelter a small snail or worm. Among the variety of what spiders eat, there are also larger objects. For the water representative of the tribe with the name Argyroneta, crustaceans, water insects and fish fry become victims. Exotic giants-tarantulas hunt frogs, birds, small lizards and mice, although most of their diet is made up of all the same insects. But there are more finicky species. Individuals of the Mimetidae family hunt only for spiders that do not belong to their species. The huge tarantula Grammostola eats young snakes - and destroys them in striking amounts. Five families of spiders (in particular, Ancylometes) catch fish, and are able to dive, swim, track down prey and even pull it out on land.