Spider Webs
Spiders use their webs to catch food, and weight for weight a spider’s web is stronger than steel!
A web allows spiders to trap their prey without having to hunt it. But a web is not just a simple net, some have structures and properties that may make them attractive to flying insects (webs are very visible in UV light that many insects are able to see with). Spiders produce the silk that makes up their web from special glands called spinnerets at the end of their body. They have several different spinnerets that produce different types of web silk such as sticky silk for trapping prey or fine silk for wrapping trapped prey.
Traditionally spider silk has been used in bandages (the silk contains vitamin K which is involved in blood clotting) and as an alternative to canvas for painting on. Because of its strength and elasticity (it can stretch up to 5 times its length before breaking) there is much current interest in producing the spider silk artificially for use in a wide range of materials and applications such as bullet proof vests.
