~ Adverts ~

Why Doesn't a Spider
Get Stuck to its Own Web?

Help, I'm Stuck!! It 's an age old question and I'm sure you'd like an answer, well here goes:

Have you ever wondered why insects stick to a spider's web but the spider doesn't? Some spiders have two or three claws at the tip of each leg. In web-weaving spiders, one of these claws has a special area that is used for hooking on to the strands of the web. The spider can use this special claw to swing from strand to strand without having to touch the sticky part of the web. In this way, a spider can move quickly over its web without getting stuck.

Most webs are made of at least two types of silk, the anchor silk (that the spider uses to move around on) and the sticky snare silk (that insects get stuck on). Just in case the spider slips, it has a special oily substance that helps to stop it getting stuck in its own web.

Even though every spider makes some kind of silk, not all the types of silk are the same. There are at least six or seven kinds of silk glands found in spiders, and each gland makes its own kind of silk.

Different silks are used for web-building, wrapping food, or for encasing an egg sac. Spider silk may or may not be sticky, depending on whether or not it is being used to catch food.

Why Doesn't a Spider Get Stuck to its Own Web?

Why Doesn't a Spider
Get Stuck to its Own Web?