All spiders produce silk, but not all spiders weave webs. In fact, only half of the more than 40,000 spiders that exist can form webs. Although walking in a spider web feels like walking a tightrope, the spider web is a miracle of structure and power, and it is very interesting. Here are five fun ways spiders and humans use spider silk.
Catch prey
In fact, if spider webs are to be classified, there are four types: funnel nets, tangled nets, spherical nets, and flaky spherical nets, which are the most common. They have a framework and a model of organization. Spherical mesh weavers often redo their nets every day and remember the size of the space they have used before. This net is very effective, trapping 250 insects per day. Flaky spherical nets are generally woven into grass and branches, like sheets. The spider either hides at the edge or between the webbing. When prey appears, they will instantly wrap themselves in spider silk and pull it in.
2. Build a private network
When you see spiders, you usually think of their webs. Spider silk is the main material used in spider webs. Spiders usually make webs at night. Their organs are called filaments, and the ends are shaped like pointed heads. In each tip there is a silk thread that connects to the silk glands of the body. The spider uses its hind legs to prop up the silk thread. From here, the spider will decide what type of web to weave. For some flaky spherical web spiders, the webs they weave can actually provide them with a source of protein. When they dismantle their nets at night, they eat the nets they weave themselves. The protein returns to the silk glands, and spiders use the protein to build a new web. In addition to catching prey with webs, spiders also use webs to create a safe place for born eggs.
3. Healing properties
Spider webs are rich in coagulant vitamin K, which helps stop bleeding. The ancient Greeks and Romans used spider webs to treat bleeding wounds of wounded soldiers. It is believed that they would first wash the wound with honey and vinegar, and then cover the wound with a cobweb with a ball of cobwebs. In India, the use of spider webs to promote wound healing is not uncommon. Researchers in India have invented a spider's web ointment that helps mice recover. The medical use of spider webs inspired British scientists to create antibiotic synthetic spider silk, which could be used in dressings to treat diabetic trauma.
4. Transportation
Spiders vary in size, from barely visible to larger than a human hand. The smallest spider in the world is the Batudigua, which can be as small as a pin. The other is the giant Huntsman spider, which has a leg span of up to 0.3 meters. Just as the size of spiders' bodies varies, so do the webs they weave. The researchers found a 2-meter-long spider web, which was woven by Darwin Barking Spiders, which is known to exist only in Madagascar. In contrast, the smallest spider webs belong to the family Homoptera and are only 0.6 cm. While spiders can make large webs to catch prey and lay eggs, they also use the web as a means of transport. The spider releases a string of silk into the air, allowing it to take them to a new location through the air current.
5. Strength
There are seven types of spider silk, each secreted by a different gland. While most spiders do not fully possess these seven types, many spiders produce several types of silk. While scientists don't yet fully understand why spider silk is so strong, they do know that it is related to the protein chain of spider silk. When the researchers used atomic force microscopy to study the silks of brown hermit spiders, they found that each silk consisted of thousands of parallel nanowires. Although nanowires are 1,000 times thinner than human hair, they are five times stronger than steel.
