How do spiders make webs?
Quick answer from Eartha
Spiders make webs using silk that comes from their own bodies, like invisible thread from a built-in factory. The silk starts as a liquid and turns solid the moment it touches air. Spiders weave it into sticky, strong patterns to catch insects for dinner. Clever, stretchy engineers!
The longer story
Spiders make silk inside special body parts called spinnerets, found near the back of their body. The silk comes out as a liquid but hardens into a strong thread as soon as it touches the air.
A spider uses different kinds of silk for different jobs. Some threads are strong for the frame of the web, while others are sticky to trap insects that fly or crawl into it.
Spider silk is famous for being incredibly strong for its size, stronger than a steel thread of the same thickness. This helps webs survive wind and catch fast-flying insects.
Many spiders rebuild their webs often, sometimes even every day, because the silk gets damaged or dirty from insects and weather.
Try this at home: Weave a paper web
- Cut a paper plate into a spiral shape, like a snail shell.
- Stretch it out gently to make a wavy, web-like circle.
- Hang it up and talk about how a real web catches insects to help spiders eat.
Words to know
- silk
- A thin, strong thread that spiders make inside their own body.
- spinneret
- The body part spiders use to spin silk into webs.
- prey
- An animal that another animal hunts or catches for food.
For grown-ups: what is my child learning here?
Age band: 5-8
Curriculum link: Australian Curriculum v9 Science, AC9S2U01
The concept: Living things have structural features suited to their environment and how they get food.
More classroom ideas are on our teachers page, and safety notes for families are on for parents.
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