The cobweb is a web that is exclusively formed by the spider and that it generates by interweaving the threads that it secretes through its spinning glands, located at the back of its abdomens.
It is worth noting that the oldest spiders have few of these glands, while more evolved species have many more that allow them to synthesize cobwebs to apply in various cases. In addition, we must say that this act of building cobwebs implies a great expenditure of energy for the spider, which is why it is usual for them to be eaten later to recover it.
The protein spider silk that is spun precisely by spiders has many uses for these famous arachnids, to develop nets for hunting, nests to protect their eggs, transport, their own food, and protection from some predators that fly, such as the wasps and some types of birds, among others, but their properties are also being investigated to produce, for example, silk and further develop the fabric industry. And on the other hand, since it has been proven that some cobwebs have such a solid thickness, they are studied for future applications in the field of industry and medicine.
The thousand and one forms of cobwebs
The forms that a spider web can present are varied, they can have a funnel shape, a leaf, a spiral, among the most recognized, and also its consistency can be diverse depending on the type of spider that produces it, sticky silk or silk with hairs. .
There are some certainly sophisticated and with specific purposes such as those that have irregular entanglements and that spiders weave especially to simply capture their prey, usually flying insects that fall into the nets.
The Spider-Man smash
On the other hand, we cannot ignore that the cobweb and spiders have become hyper popular as a consequence of the comic superhero Spiderman or Spiderman, who precisely has several powers similar to those of spiders and that allow him, for example, to generate a web or climb high positions for its ability to adhere to walls. This superhero was born in the comic as we pointed out many years ago, in 1962, and then the great success of his story made him also move to the small screen and to the seventh art.
Photos: iStock - mtcurado / Fodor90
