Small behavioral adaptations enable more effective prey capture by producing 3D-structured spider threads.

ABSTRACT: Spiders are known for producing specialized fibers. The radial orb-web, for example, contains tough silk used for the web frame and the capture spiral consists of elastic silk, able to stretch when prey impacts the web. In concert, silk proteins and web geometry affects the spider's ability to capture prey. Both factors have received considerable research attention, but next to no attention has been paid to the influence of fiber processing on web performance. Cribellate spiders produce a complex fiber alignment as their capture threads. With a temporally controlled spinneret movement, they connect different fibers at specific points to each other. One of the most complex capture threads is produced by the southern house spider, Kukulcania hibernalis (Filistatidae). In contrast to the so f

SUBMITTER: Grannemann CCF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6872738 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature