Becky Smith, age 10, of Richmond, Va., for her question:
WHAT ARE SPIDER WEBS MADE OF?
Spiders, like snakes, are greatly misunderstood creatures. Many people would shudder to know that we share our world with more than 30,000 different spider species. These people tend to think of spiders as creepy, crawly creatures and are horrified when they come across one. True, some spiders can inflict painful bites but, generally speaking, they only do so when bothered out of self defense.
Nearly all spiders are able to produce silk, and many spiders use their silk for webs. Others use the silk for different purposes such as lining their burrows, making cocoons to hold eggs, for ballooning, during courtship and as safety lines.
As a group, spiders have about seven different kinds of silk. No single spider can produce all seven kinds, but most can produce at least three. Her web material is homemade, in small glands near the tail end of her abdomen. Six or so small faucets are attached to glands in her body and they manufacture a clear liquid that becomes silk when exposed to the air. The faucets are called spinnerets, and she can use them one at a time or all at once, depending on the type of silk she wants to produce.
Perhaps the champion weaver in spiderdom is the orb spinner. It is her web that we are most familiar with. She is a master builder and the best time to catch her at work is in the hours just before sundown or just before sunrise. If she is lucky the web she spins today may last her for two or perhaps three days. However, many times her beautiful work of art is ruined during the day and she must begin anew on the morrow.
To spin her web she first climbs to a high spot and spins a long strand of silk. This she lets the breeze take until it becomes stuck fast to some nearby object. She then pulls in the slack and fastens her end of the silk down. Next she lays down foundation lines to form the outer framework of the web. The spokes of her web appear as the web progresses. Finally she adds the spiral strands which are special because they are thesticky ones and are made with a different kind of silk.
All spiders are born meat eaters, and we can be pretty pleased about that. Some of their favorite foods are the pesky insects that contaminate and spoil our fruits, vegetables and meats. And if you stop to think of all the insect pests that like the same foods we do, you have to count the spiders as true friends of man.