"Arachnidium" redirects here. For the genus of bryozoans, see Arachnidium (bryozoan).
A female specimen of Argiope bruennichi wraps her prey in silk.Indian Summer by Józef Chełmoński (1875, National Museum in Warsaw) depicts a peasant woman with a thread of gossamer in her hand.Spider cocoon
Spider silk is a protein fibre or silk spun by spiders. Spiders use silk to make webs or other structures that function as adhesive traps to catch prey, to entangle and restrain prey before biting, to transmit tactile information, or as nests or cocoons to protect their offspring. They can use the silk to suspend themselves from height, to float through the air, or to glide away from predators. Most spiders vary the thickness and adhesiveness of their silk according to its use.
In some cases, spiders may use silk as a food source.[1] While methods have been developed to collect silk from a spider by force,[2] gathering silk from many spiders is more difficult than from silk-spinning organisms such as silkworms.
All spiders produce silk, although some spiders do not make webs. Silk is tied to courtship and mating. Silk produced by females provides a transmission channel for male vibratory courtship signals, while webs and draglines provide a substrate for female sex pheromones. Observations of male spiders producing silk during sexual interactions are common across widespread taxa. The function of male-produced silk in mating has received little study.[3]
^Miyashita, Tadashi; Maezono, Yasunori; Shimazaki, Aya (2004). "Silk feeding as an alternative foraging tactic in a kleptoparasitic spider under seasonally changing environments" (PDF). Journal of Zoology. 262 (3): 225–29. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.536.9091. doi:10.1017/S0952836903004540.
^Work, Robert W.; Emerson, Paul D. (1982). "An Apparatus and Technique for the Forcible Silking of Spiders". Journal of Arachnology. 10 (1): 1–10. JSTOR 3705113.
^Scott, Catherine E.; Anderson, Alissa G.; Andrade, Maydianne C. B. (August 2018). "A review of the mechanisms and functional roles of male silk use in spider courtship and mating". The Journal of Arachnology. 46 (2): 173–206. doi:10.1636/JoA-S-17-093.1. ISSN 0161-8202. S2CID 53322197.
Spidersilk is a protein fibre or silk spun by spiders. Spiders use silk to make webs or other structures that function as adhesive traps to catch prey...
"The Children of 'Ata" 5:37 8. "Something Whispered Follow Me" 6:39 9. "SpiderSilk" 6:26 10. "Hiraeth" 6:14 11. "The Weave" 4:53 12. "Lanternlight" 6:06...
that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all orders of organisms. Spiders are found worldwide...
Trichonephila. They are commonly called golden silk orb-weavers, golden orb-weavers, giant wood spiders, or banana spiders. The genus name Nephila is derived from...
by a spider out of proteinaceous spidersilk extruded from its spinnerets, generally meant to catch its prey. Spider webs have existed for at least 100...
the insect can extricate itself, the spider rushes over to envenomate and wrap it in silk. To feed, the spider's mouth pulses digestive juices over the...
midges. Other types of arthropods produce silk, most notably various arachnids, such as spiders. The word silk comes from Old English: sioloc, from Latin:...
such as redback spiders. Pholcus phalangioides is known to be harmless to humans and a potential for the medicinal use of their silk has been reported...
flagelliform silk, also known as dragline silk, which has been found to be the most elastic of all spidersilk types. However, this highly valuable silk type...
periodically shed. Spiders also have several adaptations that distinguish them from other arachnids. All spiders are capable of producing silk of various types...
the golden silk orb-weaver, golden silkspider, or colloquially banana spider (a name shared with several others), is an orb-weaving spider species which...
modified silkworms to create body armor. Dragon silk combines the elasticity and strength of spidersilk. It has the tensile strength as high as 1.79 gigapascals...
published describing the first synthetic spidersilk that is functionally identical to naturally spun spidersilk. Using non-natural methionine analog L-azidohomoalanine...
that is secured both by a thread of silk linking it to the spider's spinnerets and by being held by the spider's chelicerae. When the eggs are nearly...
that contain silk glands. The mussel Pinna nobilis creates silk to bond itself to rocks. It is used to make sea silk. Spiders make spidersilk for various...
with a holarctic distribution. These spiders construct a dome of fine spidersilk and hang upside-down under it, waiting for their prey. It is a preferential...
of spider reproduction used by one or more currently-unknown species of spider. It typically consists of a central "spire" constructed of spidersilk, containing...
contains both venom and spidersilk in liquid form, though it is produced in venom glands in the chelicerae. The venom-laced silk both immobilizes and envenoms...
clinical manifestation, but widow spiders are also used in research on spidersilk and sexual biology, including sexual cannibalism. Anelosimus are also...
species of spider, commonly known as the yellow garden spider, black and yellow garden spider, golden garden spider, writing spider, zigzag spider, zipper...
interest in R. sulfidophilum for its applications in producing artificial spidersilk and biocompounds, waste remediation and for its use in aquaculture. Rhodovulum...
researchers in the field. Major developments in spider evolution include the development of spinnerets and silk secretion. Among the oldest known land arthropods...
(solid). ^c The strength of spidersilk is highly variable. It depends on many factors including kind of silk (Every spider can produce several for sundry...
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