Spiders build webs to stick to small bugs, why can t they stick to themselves?

There are a variety of reasons. Here's why:

One. Different physiological structures of spiders:

First, the spider only places droplets of glue on certain threads of the large web it weaves, and they tend to avoid these threads as they move around the web. Secondly, spiders touch the web with their toes, which have a small contact area, and they have a non-stick coating on their toes. In addition, spiders have special claws at the end of each foot that can grasp the web and pull it towards the elastic hairs on the spider's legs.

When the claws are released, the elastic hairs push the spider web silk away, preventing it from sticking.

Spiders are familiar with their webs, and when they start weaving, they know exactly where they are safe and how to avoid sticky areas to ensure that they don't get caught. Spiders secrete oil from the soles of their feet, so they can walk freely even if they accidentally touch sticky spots. And in order to make the whole web functional, the spider will constantly repair the broken parts, and eat the useless web, and absorb the nutrients contained in the spider silk repeatedly.

Two. Characteristics of cobwebs:

However, not all silk in cobwebs is sticky.

As shown in the figure above, the silk capture is the viscous silk. Spiders can also secrete a type of oil that will not be stuck for a while.

Some of the webs themselves are not sticky, like ghost spiders.

Although the webs weaved by different species of spiders often vary, there are generally two types of spider silk: radial spider silk and oval spider silk. When spiders build webs, they first build radial skeleton silk threads --- longitudinal filaments. The longitudinal filaments are mainly used to support the spider web structure, which is strong but non-sticky.

After the skeleton is completed, the spider then weaves a spiral of silk in a counterclockwise direction, which scientists call a transverse filament. If you look closely, you'll see that there are water-dropping bumps on the strands, called sticky beads, and their stickiness makes it difficult for insects that intrude by mistake to get out.

Three. The "brilliance" of spiders:

If you look closely, you'll also see that the webs are usually not perpendicular to the ground, and spiders only touch the webs with their burrly feet. In this way, the whole body hangs from the cobwebs, further reducing the possibility of getting caught.

In case it hits a sticky horizontal filament, the spider will perform a trick "unique move". Everyone knows that oiling is the best way to make the surface of an object non-sticky. Spiders secrete an oily substance that spreads it on their bodies, especially their feet, and it is this oily substance that keeps it from sticking even when it touches a horizontal filament.

Because the body and legs of the spider have lubricant oil, it is the secretion produced by the spider, and the web formed by the spider does not stick to the oil, so it cannot stick to itself.

The spider's web is anti-enemy, and it has no adverse effect on itself, and it will not stand on its own at all, because the spider's web is the silk pulp discharged from its stomach, and it is discharged through the small hole at the end of the tail to solidify into a relatively thin silk thread after encountering the air, and it will form a web after a long time, this kind of web is with some stickiness, but this kind of web has a rejection of the oil secreted by the spider itself, so the spider web can stick to other small insects, but cannot stick to itself.

1. Why can't spiders stick to themselves in their webs?

In addition to saying that there is oil on the spider's legs and body, there is also a theory that the spider has a non-sticky main line when it builds the web, and it usually walks along this non-sticky line when it walks on the web, so the spider web.

can't stick to yourself, whether that's the case or not, you still need to observe and study it. <>

Second, the body structure of the spider

The spider is one of the more important beings in nature, and its body has long plates.

It is mostly between 1 90 mm, while the body is divided into two parts, the thorax and the abdomen, its head is covered with a dorsal armor and chest plate, and it is flanked by two pairs of appendages, the first pair of appendages have chelicera, and the tips of the chelicera have natural openings, which are the places where it excretes venom. The spider's second pair of appendage whiskers are the tools used to obtain food and the most important sensory organ on its body. <>

3. The living habits of spiders

Spiders in nature mostly take young insects as food, it can be divided into two types of hunting type and sedentary type according to the way of life, the nomadic spider is mainly hunting and predatory, it is a kind of spider that has no fixed place, does not build a web and does not dig a hole, this spider has no nest, and the sedentary spider will dig and catch the web, have its own nest, and have a fixed residence. Spiders are also independent beings, keeping a certain distance from their companions and not aggressive each other.

Because the spider's web is the silk pulp discharged from its stomach, it is discharged through the small hole at the end of the tail and solidifies into a relatively thin silk thread after encountering the air, and it will form a web after a long time, this kind of web is with some stickiness, but this kind of web has a rejection of the oil secreted by the spider itself, so the spider's web can stick to other small insects, but cannot stick to itself.

In fact, there is a substance on its legs to prevent it from sticking, and besides, it is impossible to catch itself by building a net for predation, and the substance it secretes must be harmless to itself.

The main reason is that spiders secrete a kind of oil, and spider webs cannot stick to oil.

Here's why spiders don't get stuck in their own webs:

1. Spiders are very familiar with the "topography" of their own webs. The spider's web is made up of longitudinal filaments that are radial and transverse filaments that are spiraling. The longitudinal filaments are not sticky, while the transverse filaments are sticky, so spiders generally move on the longitudinal filaments.

2. In order to avoid accidentally touching the transverse filament and getting caught, the spider will secrete an oily substance and rub it onto the body. This way, the spider won't get stuck in its own webs.