Created as an Information Kiosk for Stage 2 children.

1. What do we know about a spider’s
habitat?

2. Where can we find spider webs?
How are spider webs made?
What are they made from?
Are all spider webs the same?
What spider makes the strongest web?
How are spider webs used?
Is there anything else that can produce it too?

3. • Underground
• On the grass
• Up trees
• On fences
Image obtained from:
www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.37.091305.110221?journalCode=ecolsys
Where have you seen a
spider web?

4. • Each spider web begins with a single thread being
released into the wind, called the bridge. This forms the
anchor point and basis for the rest of the structure.
• If the free end of the thread has caught on to
something, the spider then cinches the web and attaches
it to the starting point.
• The spider then drops a loose thread under the bridge to
crawl down on and attach a bottom anchor.
• As the spider walks along the initial structural threads, it
creates more frame threads, then the radius threads.
• A non-stick auxiliary spiral is created next.
• The spider then spirals in on the web, laying out sticky
thread and using the auxiliary spiral as a reference.

6. • Scientists have studied how spiders make their silk:
Silk proteins are long molecules
Forms a viscous solution
Passes in a very fine line from spider’s spigots through
spinnerets
Molecules become aligned
The spider stretches the gel before it dries
• This process is what gives the silk threads
their strength.
Image adapted from: science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/zoology/insects-arachnids/spide

7. • Different types of arachnids build different types of webs,
depending on the location and the type of prey they
capture.
Image obtained from:www.pacificrimwellness.com/well/2005summer/quotes.php Image obtained from: www.pestproducts.com/spider-webs.htm#She
Image obtained from:
www.sciencephoto.com/media/373353/enlarge
Image obtained from:
flickriver.com/photos/dinesh_valke/4181298142

8. • The Darwin’s Bark Spider
• A spider discovered deep in the jungles of Madagascar
spins the largest webs in the world, even across rivers!
Image adapted from: www.livescience.com/8686-itsy-bitsy-spider-web-10-times-stronger-
kevlar.html
Image obtained from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin%27s_bark_spider

9. Spiders need it for: Humans use it for:
• It is their habitat • Double the strength of
• Defence system steel
• Mobility • Light weight
• Capturing & detaining • Easily manipulated –
prey stretchy
• Protection for eggs - nest • Biodegradable
• Insoluble in water
• Defence – Kevlar vests
• Textiles – parachutes
• Artificial tendons and
Image obtained from:www.flickr.com/photos/22887580@N06/4288185051
ligaments

10. • No other living animal can identically reproduce spider
silk.
• Silk worms create a similar silk however, it is not the
same strength.
• Some goats have been genetically modified to produce
spider silk protein in their milk.
• Watch this for more information:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYlkJyG1Oik&feature=relate
d
• In the future, scientists plan to incorporate the silk genes Image obtained from:
www.thelongestlife.com/Pages/Superfoods/Alfalfa.htm
Image obtained from:http://redroom.com/member/stacy-ann-nyikos/blog/ode-to-a-silkworm
into silk worms and alfalfa plants, which they say could
produce even larger quantities of silk.
Image obtained from:www.pesticide.org/solutions/phase-2-solutions-for- Image obtained from:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goat
consumers/spiders

11. • http://australianmuseum.net.au/Spider-webs
• http://animals.howstuffworks.com/arachnids/question87.h
tm
• http://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_weavers/Spide
rWeb.htm
• http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/zoolo
gy/insects-arachnids/spider3.htm
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb6bqIWdQao
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JlLLpaCkI4&feature=r
elated
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYlkJyG1Oik&feature=
related