![]() ![]() The web's irregular outside threads are sticky. Cobwebs such as this are produced by Cobweb Weavers, or combfooted Spiders, of the family Theridiidae.Ĭobwebs are messy to human eyes, but they do a good job catching prey for the spider. The next picture, at the right below, is a classic cobweb, the kind found in house attics, barns, sheds and sometimes even in nature - beneath leaves, among stones or loose bark. In sheet webs only a few of the threads are sticky, but there's such a maze of them that insects blundering among them often get stuck and taken by the spider.Īt the left is another sheet web, but this one is obviously built by a different species, probably the Bowl and Doily Spider, Frontinella communis. Can you see the spider hanging upside down beneath the arching dome? The arching dome is sheetlike, so dome webs are regarded as one kind of sheet web. It's created by the Sierra Dome Spider, Neriene litigiosa, of North America's Pacific Northwest region. You just need to watch the whole process yourself.Ībove you can see a special kind of web known as a dome web. Actually, there's a lot more to building an orb web than just mentioned. If prey gets stuck someplace in the web, the spider knows the prey's location because of vibrations transmitted to the spider via the radii. At the left you can see the spider in its hub. Finally, many spirals of sticky silk are laid down over the radii. Then from the future web's center, or hub, inside the frame, numerous rays of sticky silk called radii (singular radius) are strung radiating from the hub to the frame. First the spider constructs a rectangle-like frame of silk suspended between various projections. Orb webs such as the one at the left often are built at night, and watching the building take place is a wonderful experience. In fact, with practice you can learn to look at a web and know which species or general kind of spider constructed it, without seeing the spider itself. Funnel Weaver spiders belong to the family Agelenidae.įunnel webs are just one of many kinds of spider webs. In the fall, female Funnel Weaver spiders deposit egg sacs in narrow places such as between rocks and loose tree bark, then dies - sometimes still clinging to her egg sac. As the spider grows it adds new layers to the flat web, so you can judge whether there's a big or small individual inside the tunnel. An insect blunders onto the web, inside the hole the spider feels vibrations of the hapless critter on the web, the spider rushes out, sinks its fangs into the insect, and carries it back into the funnel. It consists of a flat, horizontal sheet of web that "funnels" into a tunnel-like hole. ![]() Moreover, once you begin looking for spider silk, it's just everywhere.įor example, the web at the right is a very common type a funnel web. Nothing is more special about spiders than their use of silk. ![]()
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