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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.
Many spiders build webs specifically to trap and catch insects to eat. However, not all spiders catch their prey in webs, and some do not build webs at all. The term "spider web" is typically used to refer to a web that is apparently still in use (i.e., clean), whereas "cobweb" refers to a seemingly abandoned (i.e., dusty) web. [3]
The cribellate spiders were the first spiders to build specialized prey-catching webs, later evolving into groups that used the spinnerets solely to make webs, instead using silk threads dotted with droplets of a sticky liquid (like pearls on a necklace) to capture small arthropods, and a few large species even small bats and birds.
Crumbley explains that control of spiders comes in two forms: knocking down webs and removing their food sources: Webs can be knocked down with brooms or long dusting wands.
The web of a funnel-web spider Tegenaria duellica. Many spiders, but not all, build webs. Other spiders use a wide variety of methods to capture prey. Web: There are several recognised types of spider web. Spiral orb webs, associated primarily with the family Araneidae; Tangle webs or cobwebs, associated with the family Theridiidae; Funnel webs,
Webs, the authors said, “are ubiquitous in many natural and anthropogenic environments, found in an array of microhabitats worldwide, and naturally selected to act as sticky traps.”
Their webs are usually characterized by a zigzag shaped stabilimentum (an extra thick line of silk) in the middle extending vertically. The spiders spend most of their time in their webs, waiting for prey to become ensnared. When prey becomes caught in the web, the spider may undulate the web back and forth to further trap the insect.
By late summer and early fall, this species of spider becomes a common sight in the area