Types of Spider Webs
There are a few types of spider webs found in the wild, and many spiders are classified by the webs they weave. Different types of spider webs include:
- Spiral orb webs, associated primarily with the family Araneidae, as well as Tetragnathidae and Uloboridae
- Tangle webs or cobwebs, associated with the family Theridiidae
- Funnel webs, with associations divided into primitive and modern
- Tubular webs, which run up the bases of trees or along the ground
- Sheet webs
Several different types of silk may be used in web construction, including a "sticky" capture silk and "fluffy" capture silk, depending on the type of spider. Webs may be in a vertical plane (most orb webs), a horizontal plane (sheet webs), or at any angle in between. It is hypothesized that these types of aerial webs co-evolved with the evolution of winged insects. As insects are spiders' main prey, it is likely that they would impose strong selectional forces on the foraging behavior of spiders. Most commonly found in the sheet-web spider families, some webs will have loose, irregular tangles of silk above them. These tangled obstacle courses serve to disorient and knock down flying insects, making them more vulnerable to being trapped on the web below. They may also help to protect the spider from predators such as birds and wasps.
Read more about this topic: Spider Web
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