Talk:Spider web

How do spiders make webs
Please can someone explain how spiders actually make webs, especially large webs, it has always amazed me how they manage to get a web across such relatively large distances. Bluemoose 14:20, 2 August 2005 (UTC)


 * I second Bluemoose's request. Since moving last year from spider-unfriendly San Francisco (too cold and windy) to spider-abundant Oakland, I've now enjoyed two summers of wonderment.  My back yard is constantly being criss-crossed by spiders, attaching lead lines, catching a breeze, and somehow transversing great expanses of air, laying super-strong silk across up to ten feet of space.  Then they somehow make it back again, trailing another line, to triangulate the space.  Then, as I understand it, they use a whole different spinerette (silk-producing gland) to make one big circle; then spokes; then the spiral.  They follow this feat with endless hours and days in wait for some hapless flying insect to get snagged.  I'm spending much too much time standing in my back yard on sunny days watching these marvelous creatures at work.  When they lay lines across my pathway, I always feel guilty when I accidentally crash through it.  Sometimes I even apologize, "Spider, I'm sorry you put all this work into making this glorious web; heck, if I spent my entire life trying, I couldn't do what you just accomplished since an hour ago when I last crashed through your work; but I've got to get to my back porch."  Please, someone tell us more.  How is all this incredible engineering achieved by such an erroneously loathed creature?  Are webs gender-specific?  (i.e., Do both males and females make webs of this type?)  How cruel is it when I destroy one on purpose, simply for my own convenience (even if I do apologize)?  How long can a spider go between meals?  (They always seem to be waiting, rather than eating.)  When I stun a fly (with no sympathy) and place it on a web, is that akin to feeding wild animals (i.e., a No-No)?  -- Terry Carroll, Oakland, California, September 1, 2005


 * it comes out of its ass —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.20.189.2 (talk) 00:44, 30 April 2009 (UTC)


 * Well according to this video: Webs of Intrigue a spider shoots out the web from it's abdomen and allows it to travel with the wind to it's destination. I highly recommend getting that video if you want more information. I haven't watched it in a while, maybe I'll watch it soon and brush up on the pecularities of the spinning process. --Fir0002 style="color:#C6CACC; background:#F8FCFF">www 00:55, 26 March 2006 (UTC)


 * I have no idea. But it seems it seems it's a mix of chemicals in the abdomen and a mix of saliva.--207.68.235.128 (talk) 23:19, 20 July 2009 (UTC)


 * The first thread drifts across a gap on the breeze. The silk comes from the spinnerets at the tip of the abdomen – no saliva involved.  Both these points are covered in the article.  (Don't forget that Wikipedia is not a forum, and talk pages are supposed to be for discussion about the content of the article – the best place to ask questions is at WP:Reference Desk)  Richard New Forest (talk) 11:44, 21 July 2009 (UTC)

Types of web
I'd like to see some explanation about differences between webs spun by different spider species.

Treatment for cuts
The belief that spiderweb is an effective treatment for cuts appears to be quite widespread (I have come across it in England and in Laos). Does anyone know anything about this? 202.62.101.70 06:55, 31 January 2006 (UTC) James Haughton, Vientiane, Lao PDR, Jan 31 2006

New image
I'd like to propose this image for the spider web article.
 * That's a nice image. You can post it to the page yourself if you like. No need to ask anyone's permission. Remember Wikipedia is built by the users.151.205.106.107 16:25, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

Spider webs and drugs
I clearly remember reading the New Scientist article (force-feeding drugs to spiders...it's not the kind of article you forget in a hurry), so I checked the New Scientist website. Verification of the existence of the article can be found here.

Simon --192.93.164.20 07:03, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

This specifically reminds me of a mockumentary on this topic over on YouTube called Spiders on Drugs, and I even had to read the citations in order to even consider it plausible rather than a vandalism inspired by this movie. --129.10.116.200 (talk) 22:57, 28 December 2008 (UTC)

--I'm not sure the need to add this animal-on-drugs reference into a description of spiders. Imagine the tone of wikipedia if every animal entry included a piece on how they act under different drugs. Look, rabbits hop around in circles if given LSD, dogs bark and foam at the mouth if given vodka, squirrels fall out of trees if given caffeine. The results aren't unexpected (general interference of nervous system) and so aren't particularly interesting, and really have nothing to do with an encyclopaedic description of any animals, including spiders. Tom. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.174.104.51 (talk) 02:49, 23 December 2009 (UTC)

Anchor Points
I have a web pictured here that has an anchor point 12 feet away that is only 2.5 feet off the ground. Any ideas on how a spider can spin a web over that distance without the web being caught in grass or other plants?

WikiLinks
Hello, KarlBunker. You reverted my last edit (my first edit!) saying that the wikilinks I added were trivial. According to the Manual of Style, it recommends that wikilinks be added where users' curiousity would naturally take them and that 10% is the upper limit of the number of words that should be wikilinked. As I read this article earlier, I was frustrated that I couldn't click on "surface tension" and "protein" and "prey" to satisfy my curiousity. There are 1166 words in the article, and only 31 wikilinks, for a rate of 2.6%. I don't think this is too many wikilinks, and I'd like you to consider re-reverting back.Cas510 05:17, 19 September 2006 (UTC)


 * Cas510, some of the links you added were a good idea, but I thought several were trivial words that didn't fit in with the purpose of internal links, for example: vibration, paper, morning, spray paint. I've replaced a lot of your links; I should have done that in the first place, rather than just reverting your edit, but I was lazy. Sorry about that, and thanks for opening a polite dialog rather than just re-reverting. KarlBunker 09:48, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Zigzags
Mention why some spiders (here in Taiwan) decorate their webs with zigzags, etc. Lure a mate? Jidanni 14:00, 15 July 2007 (UTC)

i thought spmeone would post this

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/30/spider.web.ap/index.html —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.84.251.16 (talk) 01:21, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Have a look here: Web decorations

Giant Web
I just saw a giant spiderweb on the news, apparently thousands of spiders contributed to it's construction. Does anyone care to add this? 71.89.8.194 10:29, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

There was one recently discovered in east Texas. I'm told that there was another one in Australia. Does anybody know about that one? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp5iDp48czw ElMeroEse 21:35, 12 November 2007 (UTC)

See (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anelosimus). 86.134.117.67 (talk) 09:53, 2 April 2012 (UTC)

Which insects could care less about spider webs?
(My Taiwan observations): Mention it's not your average spider web that can hold a mosquito... they break away easy as they are strong...

Mention what types of insects hardly ever get caught in webs, and others that almost always do, despite similar sizes. Jidanni (talk) 04:44, 28 November 2007 (UTC) THIS WEBSITE STINKS! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.72.193.71 (talk) 22:18, 30 April 2008 (UTC)


 * stink bugs routinely ignore all webs —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.125.110.223 (talk) 20:32, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

great pics of webs


Tony  (talk)  04:22, 28 August 2008 (UTC)

Reference #7
Reference #7 to the state park in Texas is a dead link. Here is a functioning one, but I am not sure how to insert it correctly: http://texasento.net/Social_Spider.htm --KDS4444 18:38, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

Are cobwebs inside your home made by spiders? If so, what kind of spider makes them. How big are they?. I have never seen any spiders in or around any webs in my home. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.80.232.5 (talk) 02:12, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Image suggestion
Does anyone else feel this article could benefit from a picture showing the spider web holding large weight, such as a large amount of rainwater? -- Jack • ?! 05:28, 30 July 2010 (UTC)

Lost images
Image:Skylab3 2.jpg has been lost in the merger from spider webs in space. Uncle G (talk) 20:17, 8 September 2010 (UTC)

Device?
Re the introduction. I don't think a cobweb should be called a 'device'; that doesn't sound right at all. An 'artifact' maybe or 'construct', perhaps even 'trap'? 86.134.117.67 (talk) 09:47, 2 April 2012 (UTC)

Karate Master? delete?
"The definition of 'spider web' is 'a thing you walk through that instantly turns you into a karate master'." This is silly. Would someone please delete this? Or at least please explain how this is anything but silly, or even vandalism? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 168.251.194.24 (talk) 21:19, 26 April 2012 (UTC)

Cobwebs
Perhaps "cobweb" is synonymous with "spider web", but I have always heard it used to refer to dusty irregular hanging webs that might be found in a cellar, I suspect mostly spun by cellar spiders (Pholcidae), as opposed to then neat clean geometric webs created by other spiders. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mohanchous (talk • contribs) 15:08, 2 September 2012 (UTC)

Probably wrong about cobwebs.
This is just one brief discussion on why. There are many others.

http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf45730514.tip.html

69.235.5.198 (talk) 06:21, 5 May 2013 (UTC)

video
--محمد الفلسطيني (talk) 07:02, 19 November 2013 (UTC)

Genetic memory
The construction of elaborate spider webs to me is the prime example of genetic memory. Have I got this wrong? Is their innate knowledge of how to build them accounted for in another way? Has any work been done that links these concepts? I find it fascinating and have been sniffing around Wikipedia for more information about it but haven't found this instinctive ability of spiders discussed anywhere.--Gibson Flying V (talk) 02:38, 13 May 2014 (UTC)

Infographic about orb-webs building steps
I would like to contribute to the article with this infographic about common steps of orb-webs building. Since I'm a communication designer, I'm asking you to check the accuracy of the work and to give me a feedback. I would upload it on the article only after a technical approval. -- Dav92ide (talk) 22:32, 18 November 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 1 one external link on Spider web. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20080616193659/http://www.medicinechest.info:80/stories/166 to http://www.medicinechest.info/stories/166

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.

Cheers.—cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 02:27, 25 January 2016 (UTC)

popular culture
I humbly suggest some additions to this section. In many settings (movies, illustration, holiday decoration, tattoos) spider webs convey an almost immediate sense of spookiness, elapsed time, and neglect. The Greek myth of Arachne might merit mention as well. I'mma hafta find some sources to cite for this.... PurpleChez (talk) 15:42, 13 May 2017 (UTC)

Spin web daily?
"...after a time the silk will lose its stickiness and thus become inefficient at capturing prey. It is common for spiders to eat their own web daily..."

It's not clear to me here if spiders spin their webs every day, or only when they lose their stickiness 'after a time'. I've been told that spiders make a new web every day - if anyone knows, maybe it could be added to the article. Nick Michael (talk) 14:17, 27 November 2017 (UTC)
 * Orb weavers do; cribellate spiders that don't use sticky glue drops generally don't. I'll try to source and update this. Peter coxhead (talk) 21:56, 27 November 2017 (UTC)

Cribellate and ecribellate spiders and their webs
An absolutely major topic missing from this article is the difference between cribellate and ecribellate spiders and their webs. Webs made by cribellate spiders don't use sticky glue as the adhesive, whereas the article implies that all web work this way. Peter coxhead (talk) 08:29, 28 August 2018 (UTC)

Shared or stolen webbing?
It seems that sometimes a spider of one species will climb on a temporarily appropriate webbing, especially cobwebs, made by another, eating or dislodging the other unless it was empty. Are there studies on spiders using foreign webbing? Haven't seen anything specific but it must often be among spiders that prey on each other, even mutually depending on size and circumstance. It would be interesting to see if more neutral or commensal sharing occurs... Who is like God? (talk) 00:39, 20 December 2021 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the. —Community Tech bot (talk) 21:37, 4 March 2022 (UTC)
 * Zygiella web.jpg