The Reason Why Spiders Don't Stick To Their Own Webs
Mar 16, 2012 12:34
There have been many theories as to why spiders don't get caught in their webs. One of them was that spiders know where the sticky parts are. But recently, researchers finally figured out that it's actually a terribly clever combination of anatomy and technique.
The early theories suggested that their legs were covered in non stick coating, or that they just tip toed around their own trap. Dr William Eberhard and Dr Daniel Briceno videotaped how they moved under a microscope and discovered that they employed a three pronged approach.
What does that mean? First, the spider's legs are covered with hundreds of little hairs, and this serves to decrease the total surface area the web can stick to. Second, the spiders are very careful when walking around their web. And lastly, turns out those hairs are covered with a special chemical that prevent's the web's sticky coating from...sticking.
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