Orb weavers are spiders whose weaving technique can delight even a professional weaver. Once, scientists even conducted a funny experiment - they sent two representatives of this species to one of them. What was their surprise when these creatures, even in conditions of complete weightlessness, managed to create a web of ideal shape and structure.

What else do we know about these spiders? For example, where do they live? What do they eat? And how dangerous are they for people?

general information

Orb weavers are spiders, whose family includes more than 3 thousand species. Considering this, it is safe to say that they are in the lead among similar beings. However, this also means that it is quite difficult to give them a general description. After all, despite some similarities, their external differences can drive even an experienced researcher into a stupor.

What unites them all? The correct answer is a web, all spinners weave it. Spiders of this species, despite all their differences, create networks of a similar shape. It is difficult to confuse it with the creations of other arachnids, since it has almost perfect shape. Looking at it, you can clearly distinguish both the main threads and additional ones, in the form of circles.

The appearance of spiders

These representatives of arachnids boast the richest set of skin tones. They can be both snow-white and poisonous green. In general, the color of their body depends on the habitat and serves as a kind of natural camouflage.

But there is also something that does similar friend on each other of all representatives of the species Orbweavers. Spiders of this family have a large abdomen, which in its volume greatly exceeds the cephalothorax. Also on the front pair of paws there is a special process, thanks to which they weave their web.

habitats

Trapping webs of orb-weaving spiders are scattered all over the world. They can be found in both Northern and South America, in Africa, Europe and even Australia. Some representatives of this species feel quite confident on the territory of Russia. In particular, the most common is the cross-spider.

If we talk about the preferences of these arachnids, then we can say with confidence that they like quiet and cozy corners, hidden from prying eyes. Therefore, they try to weave their web in those places where contact with human world minimum.

However, sometimes they can change this rule. The reason for this is the desire to find lands rich in food. Therefore, do not be surprised that the orb-web spider decided to settle in the garden or in the garden. Indeed, in such places there is a lot of prey, which, by the way, is often a pest.

How does a spider spin its web?

As you might have guessed, the orb-weaver needs a web not only for the sake of aesthetic pleasure. In practice, this is a powerful trapping mechanism, honed over many centuries by evolution. How does it work?

Building new network begins with the fact that the spider sends one end of its web behind the wind in the hope that it will catch on, for example, a tree. After the goal is reached, the spinner, using the newly made bridge, begins to weave other branches of the web.

At the same time, he has two types of threads in stock. One is strong and elastic, the second is sticky. The first he uses to build the frame of the web. The second one is wound in circles in a spiral in order to cover as large an area as possible.

A signal thread runs along the entire web, the vibrations from which are able to inform the hunter that the victim has flown into a trap. After that, he only has to wait a little while the prey is finally entangled in the network.

What do Orb Weavers Eat?

The basis of the diet is made up of insects that managed to get into the net. In this case, the spider will rarely attack immediately. In most cases, he will wait until the victim is a little tired and stops fluttering, after which he will approach him.

The orbworm does not eat the whole prey. He injects special toxins into her, which corrode the victim from the inside. Then he simply drinks the contents like a thick soup, and dumps the rest down.

or not?

Many are interested in how dangerous it is for others, including people. Well, this arachnid has poisonous glands. But its toxins are only dangerous for insects and small mammals. In particular, it can cause paralysis in them.

As for people, it is not fatal for them. But the pain from him will haunt the poor fellow for a long time. True, spiders rarely bite people, it is much easier for them to jump to the ground and run away than to get involved in a senseless fight with a giant.

Spider-cross

In Russia, there is also a spider-web. Photos of this arachnid are presented in the article. His name is a cross. In general, this species of orbweaver is not much different from its relatives. He got his name thanks to the pattern on his belly in the form of a cross. You can meet him both in the forest and in an ordinary park.

They are often hard to spot because they hide from people. But with the advent of autumn, everything changes - they begin the mating season. At this time, the females weave webs in the most prominent places so that the male does not miss them. And only with the advent of the first cold weather, they again hide in their shelter.

P Darwin's spider (Caerostris darwini) is a very interesting specimen of spiders from the orb weaving family. The Darwin spider is named after the naturalist Charles Darwin. His main feature is the web that represents special interest for scientists.

How Darwin's spider was discovered


Darwin's spider was discovered on the island of Madagascar in national park Andasibe-Mantadia. This discovery was made in 2001, but the spider was described only in 2009. Such a delay in the description of this species is due to the fact that its name is timed to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. In 2009 Caaerostris darwini was first described by Matjaž Kuntner and Ingi Agnarsson, but the description was published in 2010.

Where does it live Caaerostris darwini

As mentioned above Caaerostris darwini was found on the island Madagascar. This island is considered the only habitat of this species of spiders. Only 12 species of spiders of this family were found on this island. In principle, it can be found everywhere, but Darwin's spider gives the greatest preference to places with water area. He weaves his nets mainly over the surface of the rivers, but you can run into his web and on a regular path.

Description and behavior

For spiders of the species Caaerostris darwini characterized by sexual dimorphism. Females are usually much larger than males. Females have a body length of 18 to 22 millimeters, while males have a body length of about 6 millimeters. Females are usually black with white hairs on abdominal cavity and appendages. The limbs are about 35 millimeters long, while in males the limbs are about 15 millimeters. Males are usually either red or light brown. The behavior of spiders also has an individual character, since the hunting of spiders for prey is different from its relatives. They hang a ball over a river or lake and release a web in the wind until it touches the other side. In this way, they form a kind of bridges, which are the basis of their trap.

Scientists' interest


The interest of scientists in this type of spider is that Darwin's spider, which in itself is not large sizes, weaves just a giant and very strong web. Giant, because the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe web is from 900 to 28,000 square centimeters. The length of the web of the "cable" is about 25 meters. But the main interest is the web itself. The tensile strength of this type of web is between 350 and 520 MJ/m³, while the tensile strength of Kevlar is 36 MJ/m³. So that you understand, bulletproof vests are made from Kevlar for special units. The web of Darwin's spider is a very complex mixture of elements that scientists from all over the world are studying.

In the world of spiders, it is the orb weavers that have earned a reputation the best craftsmen for weaving webs! Moreover, in 1973, two representatives of the family of orbwebs, Anita and Arabella, were sent into space on board orbital station NASA Skylab so that scientists can study the process of weaving webs in zero gravity.

It turned out that even in space, the design of the web did not change; it still had the same characteristic circular shape. In the skill of weaving nets, the round rows have left their relatives far behind: in other spiders, the web does not have such a clear shape, but is only sloppy "funnel" or panels of tangled threads.

Orb-weaving spiders form a whole family Araneidae, which includes about 3000 species.

But uloboride spiders are sometimes mistakenly called orbs ( Uloboridae, several hundred species) - due to the similarity of the web. Both orb weavers and uloborids are widely distributed in the most different corners the globe and weave very similar trapping nets, but these hunters kill their victims in different ways.

Insect hunters

Spiral webs of orbweavers are one of the engineering marvels of nature. The diameter of the web can vary from a few centimeters to a whole meter, but all networks have a common basic structure: a “bridge” line stretched between the stems forms a triangle along with two “anchor” threads that “tie” the web to the ground. Inside the web - a series of threads - "radii", diverging from the center and forming the frame of a radial spiral, itself characteristic feature circular web.

It takes about an hour for a spider (more precisely, a spider, since males do not weave webs) to create this miracle.

The circular web of the orb-weaver is a real trap for insects, which, without suspecting anything, fall into it right on the fly. The orbworm is a passive predator. He sits in the center of a shiny silky spiral and waits until the "lunch" itself will fly to him.

The orb weaver has eight eyes that provide excellent visibility, although the spider does not need to look for prey at all. He learns about the replenishment of his food stocks thanks to the vibration of the threads of the web. In anticipation of prey, the orbworm clings to the web with tenacious claws, which are located at the ends of the legs. He usually sits upside down, clinging to non-sticky threads emanating from the center of the trapping Web.

Once in the web, the unlucky insect sticks to the main spiral of threads, covered with a kind of "glue". Trying to escape from the nets, the victim becomes even more entangled in the sticky mass. The spider catches the trembling of the threads and hurries to the prey along the dry threads.

If the spider gets on the wrong thread, it will free itself, but the victim can no longer get out of the sticky web.

The orb-weaver is cautious about insects caught in the web. If it is a dangerous catch, such as a wasp, it will usually snap the threads around it. Some orbweavers are armed with spikes that protect the spiders if the prey resists. When the insect is not dangerous, the spider kills it by biting it with poisonous "fangs".

The poison not only kills, but also digests the prey. The spider rarely starts eating immediately after catching a prey. First, he wraps the insect with thread and waits. The spider feeds on liquid food and cannot chew, so it injects digestive juices into the body of dead or dying prey. Enzymes corrode the tissues of the insect, turning them into a thick "soup", and the spider sucks it out.

cunning predator

Orb-weaving spiders hang their webs on the routes of insects - between plants, where they most often fly. Usually spiders come out of their lair at night, although in the fall, when the females, as they say, work tirelessly to lay enough eggs, orbs can be seen both at night and during the day. Construction begins with one thread, a kind of "bridge", which the spider stretches, climbing onto a branch.

If the spinner is lucky, this thread, fluttering in the wind, will catch on to the second support - the plant on opposite side. This process is similar to starting kite. The spider tries to keep the first thread as long as possible, and it remakes the rest of the web almost every day.

After that, under the “bridge”, the spider attaches a second, not so tight thread and runs to the center, in order to then go down on a new thread. It turns out a U-shaped frame - the basis of the web. Two "anchors" connect the base of Y with each stem, thus forming, together with the "bridge", a triangle - the outer part of the web. Then the spider begins to weave dry radial threads, diverging from the center to the edges. There are about 20 such threads.

When the work comes to an end, the spider weaves a wide auxiliary spiral from the center to the edge. This is dry silk, which serves as a platform for the spinner during the construction of a trapping spiral going to the center. The trapping spiral has more turns than the auxiliary one, which the spider removes in the course of work.

Building a web takes about an hour, maybe two. After the spider has caught and eaten the prey, the hunter returns to his lair, hidden among the foliage. The spinner sits there all day until the next evening. Then the spider, or rather the spider, leaves the shelter to inspect the net. If the web is beyond repair, the orb-weaver eats it, and processes the absorbed proteins into silk, from which weaves a new web.

Some types of spinners add thin threads to the design, forming a zigzag pattern. They probably distract the attention of potential prey, which, thanks to them, do not notice the trapping net until it is too late. Uloborid spiders do not weave sticky trapping coils. Their web is an unusually thin thread that clings to prey, like one half of a Velcro fastener is attached to the other. In addition, uloborids suffocate the victim with a tight cocoon.

careful courtship

Orb weaver males are much, about 10 times smaller than females. Adult spiders, obsessed with the goal of finding a mate, stop caring about food. But, having found the web of the female, the spider must exercise maximum caution.

One wrong move - and the female will take him for prey! After mating, the male seeks a new pair and the female is engaged in the production of eggs. The spider lays them in a dense silk bag. The offspring of orb-weavers, having wintered in their "cocoon", will be born in the spring.

The web has incredible elasticity. Its thread can be stretched five times without breaking!

The Circular Web is virtually invisible unless sunlight hits its lustrous silk and illuminates an intricate spiral of threads, each a fraction of a millimeter thick.

Spider silk is not only used for weaving webs. The spider wraps its prey in a silken blanket and waits for the poison to take effect before eating.

It is said that Carpathian peasants used pieces of cobwebs as an antiseptic, treating wounds with them. Well, in the near future, spider silk may well become a fairly familiar material.

In terms of such a parameter as tensile strength, the web thread can be compared with steel, and the fabric woven from the web of orb-weavers is stronger than Kevlar ™ fiber. In addition, the moistened web shrinks, so it is likely that it will be possible to make artificial muscles from it.

Scientists are working on deciphering the genetic code of the proteins that make up the orb weaver's web
Araneus ventricosus to learn how to produce such strong threads industrially.

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Class Cheliceraceae
Spider-cross (Araneue er.)
The cross-web spider is a member of the large family of orb-weaving spiders. These spiders weave an amazingly beautiful round web, with which they catch their victims. The spider-cross hunts mainly on flying insects, primarily Diptera and butterflies, helping to clean gardens and forests from pests.
DESCRIPTION
Females, which are significantly larger than males, can reach three centimeters in length. The color of the body of the spider is dominated by brown tones, two zigzag dark lines stand out on the abdomen, converging in the back. The legs are covered with light and dark rings.
■ HABITAT
This genus is widely distributed throughout the world. These spiders prefer high vegetation and hang their webs at a height of about a meter from the ground.

NOTES
In Japan, this spider is called "onigumo", which means "monster spider". He owes this nickname to his dark hairy torso and boundless gluttony. Its venom, which is deadly to ordinary spider victims, does not pose a serious danger to humans.

Orb weaving spiders
Spiders are invertebrates and are included in large group arthropods. The body structure and high adaptability allowed them to survive on Earth for millions of years. The order of spiders includes more than 20 thousand species distributed throughout the globe. Of these, more than 2500 species belong to the family of orb-weaving spiders. Many of these species are known under the common
called "garden spiders".

CLASSIFICATION

TYPE Arthropods
Subtype: Cheliceraceae
Class: Arachnids
Order: Spiders

Suborder: Higher spiders
Family: Orb-weaving spiders

The orb-weaving spider family includes spiders of various sizes and colors. The photo shows a representative of the species Argiope bruennichi

deceptive appearance
Representatives of the family of orb-weaving spiders are characterized by a large abdomen and a relatively soft external chitinous skeleton. However, despite their vulnerable appearance, spiders are ruthless hunters, and their poisonous chelicerae are terrible weapons.
The body of the spider is formed by two easily distinguishable sections. The anterior is called the prosoma, or cephalothorax. This department bears six pairs of limbs: two front pairs in the mouth (chelicerae and pedipalps), and the remaining four pairs are walking legs. The back of a spider's body is called the opisthosoma, or abdomen. The high elasticity of the external skeleton allows the abdomen to vary greatly in size. After a hearty meal or before laying eggs, it can double its normal state.
Somewhat harder to see with the naked eye morphological features that distinguish spiders from other arthropods: chelicerae and spider warts. Chelicerae are located in front of the mouth and are two hooks with poisonous glands inside. Spider warts are located below the abdomen in front of the anus. A silk thread stands out from them, from which spiders spin their surprisingly complex and beautiful web.
1 - heart. In a spider, the heart is a tube with 3-4 pairs of ostia (slit-like holes), from the front end of which the aorta departs, dividing into two arteries. Of these, the hemolymph flows directly into the body of the spider, and through the ostia enters again into the heart.
2 - The elongated digestive system crosses the entire body of the spider and is represented by the mouth, oral cavity and intestines. The anterior part of the intestine expands into a muscular pharynx, which serves as a pump that draws in semi-liquid food. The midgut forms protrusions that increase the capacity of the intestine.


The brain consists of two sections: the anterior, which innervates the eye, and the posterior, which innervates the chelicerae. Spiders have no middle section, since they do not have antennae or antennae.
3 - The brain consists of two sections: the anterior, which innervates the eye, and the posterior, which innervates the chelicerae. Spiders have no middle section, since they do not have antennae or antennae.
4 - Poisonous glands are placed in chelicerae, and also protrude into the cavity of the cephalothorax. They produce poison with which spiders kill their victims.
5 - excretory system. It is represented by malpighian vessels, which have the form of two blindly closed branching tubules that flow into the intestine at the border of the middle and hindgut
6 - Spider warts. These are modified abdominal legs. At the ends of the warts there are arachnoid tubes, from which the cobweb is secreted.
7 - Ovaries. Organs in which eggs develop. In a pregnant female, the ovaries can occupy a significant part of the abdomen.
8 - Subpharyngeal nerve node
9 - Located under the esophagus and connected to the brain. Is a part nervous system: the nerve chain merged into the cephalothoracic ganglion. Nerve endings come out of it and go to various parts body.

1 - The cephalothorax. This section is protected by a special kind of dorsal shield, harder than the rest of the body of the spider. It covers vital organs, including honey.
2 - Abdomen. This is the largest part of the spider's torso, covered with an elastic exoskeleton that allows them to change in size. A characteristic pattern is often present on the back of the spider to aid in species identification.
3 - Walking legs. The spider has four pairs of walking legs. Each leg is formed by seven segments of various lengths. The last of them is called the paw and ends with two small claws. The size of the legs varies greatly in different species depending on the lifestyle.
4 - Pedipalps. They are shorter than the legs and are located in the anterior part of the cephalothorax next to the chelicerae. Formed by six segments and carry touch functions. In males, the last segment serves as a copulatory organ.
5 - simple eyes. Spiders usually have eight simple eyes. With the help of web spiders, they mainly distinguish between the strength and direction of light; wandering spiders have better vision. In general, the vision of spiders is poorly developed.
6 - Chelicerae. These are the oral appendages responsible for nutrition. They are equipped with a sharp sting connected to poisonous glands.

Netting
Spider warts are modified abdominal appendages from which the web is released.

Warts can be formed by a different number of segments, but the last of them is necessarily located a large number of cobweb-secreting organs, the so-called fusuls, forming concentric circles. The shape, size, and location of arachnoid warts vary between species.

HABITAT
In forests and gardens
The habitat of orb-web spiders is tied to the habitat of flying insects, which form the basis of their diet. Forests, shrubs and city gardens suit spiders best: the abundance of flowers attract insects here, providing spiders necessary quantity food.


The family of orb-weaving spiders is widespread on our planet and includes 2500 species. Its representatives inhabit almost all corners of the land: from sea coasts to heights of six thousand meters above sea level. Without a doubt, it was the geographical distribution that determined the diversity of species of the family of orb-weaving spiders. Various natural conditions and the environment forced them to adapt, changing the structure and habits. And yet, the diverse appearance of the representatives of orb-weaving spiders does not prevent them from maintaining a series general characteristics allowing them to be assigned to the same family.
1 - (Nephila clavipes)
The length of the female of this spider reaches four centimeters, and the size of the male is smaller - only up to ten millimeters. The abdomen has a cylindrical shape. Coloration is orange with occasional yellow spots. Dark and light stripes alternate on the legs. Despite its large size, it feeds on small prey. Distributed in Central and South America, where it lives in forests, swamps and shady gardens.
2- (Argiope bruennichi) The females of this spider reach 25 millimeters in length (up to 40 millimeters with straightened legs), and the size of the males is up to seven millimeters. The color of the spider immediately catches the eye: the abdomen is painted with transverse black stripes on a white-yellow background, for which it is also called the wasp spider. Widely distributed in Europe, South Asia, China, Japan.

3 - an ordinary cross. Araneus diadematus)
The main habitats of the cross-spider are forests, bushes, roadsides and gardens. Females reach 18 millimeters in length, larger than males, whose size does not exceed nine millimeters. On the back of these spiders, a characteristic pattern in the form of a white cross is visible. Widely distributed in Europe North America and most of Asia, including Japan.

4 - Comet Spider. Gasteracantha sanguinolenta) This small spider has six spines on its abdomen and is colored yellow, red and black. Weaves a web at the tops of trees. Found in Central and South Africa.
5 - Asian golden spider. Nephila pilipes)
This spider can reach four centimeters in length. Weaves a golden web. It lives in the forests of Thailand, India and China. Often used for food.
6 - Precious spider. (Austracantha minax) Females of this Australian species reach a length of 12 millimeters, males - a little less. These spiders settle in colonies among the vegetation, hanging the web at a height of one meter above the ground. The abdomen of the spider is covered with thorns and painted in bright yellow and white colors on a black background.

LIFESTYLE
hanging by a thread
The survival of the family of orb-weaving spiders directly depends on the number of flying insects.

This is the only prey that can be caught in a web located at a relative height above the ground. For this reason, orb-weaving spiders prefer to settle in green areas, where the bulk of their potential victims are concentrated.
without haste
The life of spiders may seem too quiet and calm. All they do is wait until the next victim gets into their net. Zoologists call orb-weaving spiders sedentary, since their entire life passes on or near the web, at least after the spiders reach adulthood. The shape of their body, unlike spiders of other families, such as jumping spiders and wolf spiders, does not allow them to move quickly, and on the ground they are rather helpless. And yet, in a number of cases, orb-weaving spiders leave their guard post and do other things. This happens during the mating season and during the construction of amazing silk cocoons in which the spider wraps its eggs. Many scientists suggest that spiders began to produce silk threads specifically to protect masonry.

mating games
The moment of reproduction, during which the male and female must come into contact, is one of the most dangerous and difficult in the life of spiders, especially males. Usually males are much fewer females and can easily become their prey. To avoid this, male orb-weaving spiders approach the female's web with the utmost care. Having reached her, they pull the threads in a special way to make it clear to the female that we are talking not about the victim, but about a possible partner. When the female allows the male to climb the web, he cautiously approaches her and stands opposite her as shown in the photo above.

From this position, he introduces his pedipalps into the genital opening in the abdomen of the opposite female and deposits a spermatophore there, in which spermatozoa are enclosed. After a short copulation, the male leaves the web at a run to avoid unnecessary complications.

Nutrition
The main prey of orb-weaving spiders is represented by flying insects that fall into the web in flight or jump.

Having found the victim, the spider entangles it with a web, completely immobilizing it, after which it pierces it with its powerful chelicerae and injects poison. After a short period of time, when the poison dissolves internal organs victims, turning them into mush, the spider returns to the prey and sucks out the nutrient mass. In the image on the right, a mantis was caught in the web of a wasp spider (Argiope bruennichi).

Reproduction
Spiders are egg-laying animals. This means that their babies develop outside the mother's body. Females lay their eggs in cocoons, or ootheca, made just before laying. In some species of orb-web spiders, ootheca take on amazing shapes and sizes. The thread from which the cocoon is made differs from the thread that goes to weaving nets. As the cocoon is erected, the female processes the threads with her saliva, strengthening them and giving them a papery structure. This helps to protect the eggs, which spend several weeks or even months in a cocoon under a variety of climatic conditions.

Ravenous hunters
All spiders are predators and, accordingly, excellent hunters, in large quantities destroying insect pests. They have extremely diverse ways of obtaining food: from stalking prey by wandering spiders to building a variety of intricate trapping devices by settled spiders. At the same time, orb-weaving spiders stand out from their counterparts in that they weave the most beautiful and largest webs.


The main hunting skill of orb-weaving spiders is the ability to weave a web. It should be borne in mind that a lot of insects get into the web during the day. With too much "harvest", the spiders have to constantly repair the web.

Although most orb-weaving spiders try to make it invisible, there are some, such as the wasp spider (Argiope bruennichi), which put a cross in the center of their web, or a stabiliment, which is formed by four zigzag web ribbons. At first glance, this does not make sense, since the zigzag unmasks the web. But scientists believe that this is done so that the web is more visible to birds. Seeing a web in flight, the bird will try to fly around it. However, spiders are not only hunters, but also victims. They are especially loved by birds that feed spiders to their chicks. Warblers are considered one of the main hunters of spiders and catch them both on the web and in their hiding places.

Artist's handwriting
Each group of spiders has its own characteristic web shape. The most interesting is the large concentric web of orb-weaving spiders, designed to trap flying insects. There are spiders that don't make any kind of web at all, like jumping spiders. Rough webs in the corners of walls and on tree trunks are characteristic of tangled weaver spiders and six-eyed spiders. Web spiders, which include black Widow, weave networks of irregular shape.

The main enemies of spiders
Birds: Many birds, such as warblers and tits, love to feed spiders to their chicks.
Wasps: Some wasps catch spiders in their webs. They paralyze the spider with a sting, drag it into their hole and lay an egg on the body of the spider. Upon hatching, the larva feeds on the spider as "live canned food".
Bats: Into the Dark the bats unmistakably find spiders and snatch them with precise movement
from the web.

Major casualties
Spiders: Female spiders are larger than males and can sometimes feed on their partners. In addition, there is a special family of spiders Mimetidae, which feed exclusively on spiders of other species.
Flies: They are the main victims of spiders and make up a significant part of their diet.
Grasshoppers: Grasshoppers' abundance and mode of locomotion make them a prime prey for orbweb spiders.
Butterflies: The uneven flight of a butterfly seeking flower nectar often ends up in the webs of a spider.
Dragonflies: The webs of some spiders, such as the wasp spider, are capable of holding even large insects such as dragonflies.

Hunting "skills" carnivorous plants and animals improved along with the development of life on our planet. Predators have always adapted to the behavior of their prey. The most cunning of them have managed to create traps that allow them to catch prey without chasing it, and without even entering into direct confrontation, fraught with injury and damage. Using traps, some species hunt prey that they cannot cope with in an open fight. A significant proportion of these sophisticated hunters are spiders, whose ability to weave silk webs has become proverbial. The web is one of the most durable natural materials. But not only spiders can build traps. There are other creatures that use deceit and cunning to earn their living.

Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula)
Flycatcher is one of the carnivorous plants. It grows on peatlands, poor in nutrients, and therefore needs protein food. On the upper surface of the two rounded leaves of the leaf, three sensitive hairs stick up, secreting a very sticky liquid. The flaps of the flycatcher instantly slam shut when an insect hits. The digested prey is absorbed by the cells of the plant.

Antlion (Palpares sp.)
Adult antlions are very similar to dragonflies (left) and catch their prey in flight. The larvae (top right) build amazing traps on the ground.

In the process of its development, a small larva digs a funnel in the sand (bottom right) and hides at its bottom. When an ant or other terrestrial insect approaches the edge of the trap, its walls collapse and the animal cannot climb up. The larva grabs it with its powerful jaws, pulls it into the sand and eats it.

Wasp spider Argiope bruennichi) Wasp spider and spiders similar to it spin the most beautiful webs, reaching two meters in diameter. If such a trap is stretched between two bushes, it occupies almost all the free space and it is very difficult to bypass it.

Nemesia (Nemesia sp.)
Nemesia live on earth and dig underground galleries lined with cobwebs. They spend almost their entire lives in them. The entrance to the mink is closed by a lid, which the spider makes from the web. The lid is almost invisible against the background of the earth. The spider waits at the entrance to the gallery, holding on with its feet to the finest threads of the web scattered near the entrance. As soon as a small invertebrate steps on them, the spider jumps out of its hiding place, grabs the victim and drags it into the hole.

From myths to cinema
The ability of spiders to weave webs has fascinated people since ancient times. Not without reason, in ancient and modern art, characters with the abilities of a spider act as skilled craftsmen or superheroes.
The myth of Arachne has become a favorite subject of classical art. The first depiction of this scene was found on an ancient Greek incense vessel dated to the 7th century BC. In painting, it is captured on the canvases of Rubens and Velasquez, and in literature it is found in Homer and in Ovid's Metamorphoses. Above is an illustration from Antoine Dufour's The Life famous women» (XVI century).


One of the myths Ancient Greece tells about a girl named Arachne, who once lived in Lydia and was a perfect master of weaving. Arachne was so skillful and proud that she was not afraid to challenge Athena herself, the goddess of the arts and the inventor of yarn and fabric, to the competition. Pallas Athena descended from Olympus to earth and accepted the challenge of a proud girl who dreamed of proving that she could weave better than a goddess. Each of the contestants created their own masterpiece. But Athena really did not like the plot depicting the gods, created by Arachne on an immaculately woven canvas. The goddess became angry, tore the fine work and hit the girl. Arachne could not bear the shame, twisted a rope for herself and hanged herself. Taking pity, Athena saved Arachne's life, but turned her into a spider. In Greek "Arachne" means "spider", so when you say modern name arachnids - Arachnida, we involuntarily mention the name of the Lydian girl.

Comic book hero who conquered the TV screen
The idea to give a person the ability to spin a web, just like spiders do, formed the basis of one of the most famous comics - Spider-Man.

According to the plot, the bite of the spider gave Peter Parker the opportunity to indulge in a superhero capable of throwing a web for long distances in order to move from building to building and catch villains that threaten defenseless citizens.
The comic book, which was released in the United States in the middle of the 20th century, served as the plot of several equally successful film adaptations. Unlike real spiders, Spider-Man did not have a spinneret. He released his web from his wrists.

Based on the materials of issue No. 4 Insects and their acquaintances

The nature surrounding a person is not always friendly towards him. However, often what looks intimidating on the outside, in fact, is not so. This can also be attributed to the garden orb-weaving spider, the very name of which indicates its main occupation and outstanding weaving abilities. It should also be added that representatives of this species are one of the very first living organisms that appeared on Earth long before man. The time of their appearance dates back to the Cretaceous period.

What does it look like

The orb-web spider does not differ in the structural features of the body. Like all his relatives, he has:

  • cephalothorax;
  • abdomen.

Important!Female Orbweavers boast longer walking legs than males, and their chelicerae are more venomous.

On the first part of his body are six pairs of legs, and only four of them contribute to movement. The two remaining pairs have different names and have a different purpose:

  • pedipalps - precede walking legs. They perform several functions at once. It is both an organ of reproduction, and touch, taste and smell. They are also called "leg tentacles";
  • chelicerae - look like claws, and it is in them that there are poisonous ducts. These two pairs of limbs are located simply in the spider's mouth.

The spider has the following external characteristics:

  • their belly different size. It especially increases in females bearing offspring;
  • the color of the spider can be greenish, brown, gray, black with yellow speckles, white or black and white;
  • three pairs of spider glands are located below the abdomen;
  • the body size of females and males is different. In females, the length reaches from 15 to 25 mm, males are much smaller - 9–11 mm;
  • the body of spiders is covered with an external skeleton, and the abdomen and cephalothorax are connected with a stalk;
  • The eyes of these predators are very small. Vision is an unnecessary luxury for them, as they get along well with other senses. However, four pairs of eyes are located in two rows - on the forehead and on the crown.

Habitat and lifestyle

This type of arthropod is also called garden spiders. Very often, walking in the garden or picking berries from a bush, you can see his trapping net. They also like to weave webs near fences or in weeds. In any case, preference is given to sunny and wind-protected places.
It is not easy to see the hunter for easy prey himself. Usually during the day he hides in his shelter - under the nearest leaf. There he hangs, resting, on a cobweb. But at night comes the period of activity. At this time, the spider catches its prey, swinging in the very center of the dangerous lace.

Did you know? In one of the London museums, an unusually beautiful golden dress was presented, which took four years and a web of a million orb-web spiders to make.

What does it eat

Spiders have an excellent appetite and can eat food much larger than their own in a day. However, they also have significant breaks in nutrition - from a year to a day. The diet of circle weavers includes:

  • flies;
  • mosquitoes;
  • vile;
  • small grasshoppers;
  • crickets;
  • pollen and fungal spores;
  • web.

 Digestive juice is injected into the trapped prey, which turns the insect into a kind of homogeneous soft and viscous substance, which the spider draws into itself like a cocktail.

Orb-weaving spiders build their web in a special way. If crickets often get into their networks, then they make large cells, if the prey is not so large, then they reduce the holes in the web.

Did you know?Cambodian women« milked» nephil and pull threads from their arachnoid glands, which are wound on a spindle. Then they make rugs from such yarn, and men make fishing line for catching fish.

How to weave a web

The web is special kind art. It is a kind of triangle, one side of which is in the air, and the other two are connected to each other near the ground. Inside this triangle, a web is woven, diverging from the center to the edges in the form of a spiral.
The web has a very neat appearance - the cells of one row do not differ from each other in size and increase in proportion to the web. Its radius can vary from a few centimeters to a meter. The main threads have a special adhesive coating, barely touching which, the victim will no longer be able to free himself. And the spider along the dry "paths" will painlessly get to it.

Did you know? Some Orb Weavers even managed to go to space. And in conditions of weightlessness, the pattern of their web remained unchanged.

By the way, weaving begins with dry threads, after which the spider proceeds to trapping nets. A rather thick thread is stretched through the finished web, which serves as a kind of “bell” - it is thanks to its vibrations that the spider understands that it is time for him to have lunch. After eating the next prey, the spider checks its web and pulls up stretched threads or connects broken threads. It takes about 1-2 hours for the spider to complete this masterpiece. Males do not participate in weaving.

poisonous or not

These spiders can be considered harmless. Although they, of course, can bite if there is a threat to him or his home. The bite site will swell and turn red after a while, and in the center of it two small wounds will be clearly visible. After 2-3 days, the skin will return to normal. Although they hold the title of the most biting, their venom is mainly used to digest food.
Spiders bring great benefits not only to the ecosystem, but they have faithfully served a person for a huge number of years. They cleanse nature from harmful insects (up to 400 such individuals can get caught in their net per day). The finest silk is made from the web, from which beautiful dresses, gloves and other clothes are then obtained.

Important!The bite of this spider will not bring fatal health consequences.

In microsurgery, optics and instrumentation, it is difficult to find a full-fledged analogue of this thinnest and incredibly durable natural remedy. Even the treatment of wounds and burns is carried out with the help of a special cobweb film, which contributes to the speedy regeneration of the skin. Therefore, having met somewhere in the country or in the forest with the inconspicuous author of this masterpiece, there is no need to destroy it. Let him live his life and continue to benefit people.