Like Spider-man, This Spider Shoots Silk to Attack
June 14, 2017 - A new study found that ground spiders catch prey by
shooting silk to immobilize them. Unlike their web-spinning counterparts, ground spiders' silk glands cannot produce the specific threads needed to anchor a web to surfaces. But they are able to shoot at high volume tough and stretchy silk that can ensnare prey, even those larger than themselves. This ability allows ground spiders to actively hunt and capture prey, as opposed to waiting for their meals to get caught in a web.
Read "Spider Catches Prey by Shooting Webs."
You’re watching a slowed-down battle between a ground spider and house spider.
What makes this fight unusual is that the ground spider shoots sticky silk to ensnare its opponent.
Most spiders create webs and wait for prey to get caught in their traps.
But the ground spider doesn’t spin webs because their silk-producing glands are different.
Their glands can’t produce the densely packed anchor threads, called attachment discs, that attach a web to surfaces.
Instead, the ground spiders can eject at high speed stretchy and tough silk to immobilize their prey.
This allows the ground spider to hunt insects and arachnids that are larger than themselves.
