Most people do not like or even afraid of spiders. They do not care about the web - an effective trap, with which spiders catch their victims. Meanwhile, the web is one of the most advanced creatures of nature, which is characterized by a number of amazing properties.

Initially, the web is stored in a liquid form

Inside the spider, the web is stored in a liquid form and is a high glycine, serine and alanine protein. When the liquid is washed through a spinning tube, it instantly freezes and turns into a cobweb.

Not the whole web sticky

The radial threads of the web for which the spider usually moves inside their traps does not contain adhesive substances. Cold threads are thinner and lungs - arranged rings and covered with the smallest droplets of the adhesive. It is for them that the inattentive victims of the spider are sticking.

But even if the spider for some reason is forced to go with a radial thread on the ring, then it will not stick anyway: the whole thing is in the hairs that cover the legs of the articraft. When the spider comes a paw on the thread, the hairs collect all the sticky drops. After the spider lifts his leg, drops from the hair again to the thread of the web.

The strength of the web is influenced by light, temperature and humidity.

The adhesive substance that fastes the threads of the web, changes its stickiness depending on weather conditions. It has been established that the found of the web in a dry and hot place reduces its strength. The straight sun rays will further weaken the junction of the threads between themselves and make the web even less durable.

Spiders use cobweb not only for catching extraction

A web is used by spiders not only for the manufacture of excellent traps. For example, some species use a web for marriage games - females leave a long thread, going through which passing by the male can get to the desired goal.

Often spiders tear their mink's web. Others use threads as ropes for which you can go down. If the spider lives at an altitude, under his refuge, he can stretch a few safety threads so that when falling the opportunity to cling to them.

The original method of using the web found some representatives of the family of spiders-circuits living in the tropical forests of Amazonia. They glow the thread of several twigs in such a way as to make them similar to the insect. Then, moving at a certain distance, the spider pulls for the thread, forcing the mooring to move, imitating the movement of the insect. This method helps spiders to divert predators and, while the enemy explores the uluage, the sealership appears the opportunity to escape.

Spiders of some species leave an electric charge on a web

A real surprise was the news that spiders of the form of uloborus plumipes during a weaving with their hyperfine cobweb additionally rubbing her legs, which gives a trap electrical charge. When an insect, which has an electrostatic charge, turns out next to the web, is instantly attracted to it at a speed of about 2 m / s.

Some cobwebs are striking their length

The web of the females of Pauka Darwan can scare even the most bold man: her tailing area can reach 28,000 cm², and the length of some thread numbers up to 28 meters!

Darwin spider threads stretching over the river

At the same time, fastening threads of similar paouth are characterized by high strength: for example, they are 10 times more stronger than Kevlar - material that is used as a reinforcing component in body armor

Some spiders can weave the web even under water

We are talking about Serebryanka Spider, which is able to be under water for a long time. When immersing in water between the hairs, his abdomen is delayed air bubbles that spider uses for breathing under water.

Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences E. Lozovskaya

Science and life // illustration

The adhesive substance that covers the thread of a trapping spiral is evenly distributed on a web in the form of droplets-beads. The picture shows the place of attachment of two fragments of trapping spiral to the radius.

Science and life // illustration

Science and life // illustration

Science and life // illustration

Science and life // illustration

Start steps Building a catchal with a spider-cruster.

The logarithmic spiral approximately describes the shape of an auxiliary spiral thread, which the spider is pauntered during the construction of the wheels of the network.

The Archimedes Spiral describes the shape of the adhesive thread.

Zigzag threads are one of the features of the spiders of the genus Argiope.

Crystal fields of silk fibers have a folded structure, like the one that is depicted in the figure. Separate chains are connected by hydrogen bonds.

Young spiders-crushes that have just selected from a cocoon cocoon.

The Spiders of the Dinopidae Spinosa family weave the grid of the web between their feet and then throw it to the sacrifice.

Spiderman (Araneus Diadematus) is known for its ability to weave large wheel-shaped trashing networks.

Some types of spiders attach to a round trap also a long "staircase", which significantly increases the efficiency of hunting.

Science and life // illustration

So look under the microscope, sputum tubes, of which the threads of the spider silk come out.

Perhaps spiders are not the most attractive creations, but their creation is a web - can not not cause admiration. Remember how the look of the geometric correctness of the thinner threads are stretched between the branches of the shrub or among high grass.

Spiders are one of the most ancient inhabitants of our planet, settling the land of more than 200 million years ago. In nature there are about 35 thousand species of spiders. These octopographers who live everywhere, recognizable always and everywhere, despite differences in coloring and size. But the most important distinctive feature - This is the ability to produce a web silk, unsurpassed by the strength of natural fiber.

Spiders use a web for a variety of purposes. They make me cocoons for eggs, are building asylums for wintering, use as a "safety rope" when jumping, melted intricate networks of networks and wrapping caught prey. Ready to mating a female produces a spider thread marked with pheromones, thanks to which the male, moving along the thread, easily finds a partner. Young spiders of some species fly away from parental nests on long threads, closed by the wind.

Spiders are powered in the main insects. Cutting devices with which they use to mining food are of a variety of forms and species. Some spiders simply stretch out several signal threads next to their refuge and as soon as the insect hurts for the thread, rush to him from the ambush. Others - throw the thread with adhesive drops on the end, like a kind of arcane. But the top of the design activity of spiders is all the same round wheelchair, located horizontally or vertically.

To build a wheeled catcher, a spider-crusade, the usual inhabitant of our forests and gardens, produces a rather long durable thread. The breeze or the ascending flow of air raises the thread up, and, if the place for the construction of the web is selected successfully, it clings for the nearest branch or other support. The spider crawls along it to fix the end, sometimes making another thread for strength. He then produces a freely hanging thread and attaches the third to her middle, so it turns out the structure in the form of the letter Y - the first three radius from more than fifty. When radial threads and frame are ready, the spider returns to the center and begins to lay a temporary auxiliary spiral - something like "scaffolding". The auxiliary helix bonds the design and serves a spider by the track when building a spiral. The entire main framework of the network, including radii, is made from a non-flick thread, and a double thread coated with an adhesive substance is used to catch the helix.

It is surprising that these two spirals have a different geometric shape. The temporary spiral has relatively little turns, and the distance between them with each turns increases. It happens because, making it, the spider moves at the same angle to radius. The form of the resulting broken line is close to the so-called logarithmic spiral.

Sticky catful helix is \u200b\u200bbuilt on another principle. The spider begins with the edge and moves to the center, while maintaining the same distance between the turns, and the Archimedes helix turns out. At the same time, he bruises the threads of the auxiliary spiral.

The web silk is made by special glands located in the back of the bride spider. It is known at least seven types of sputum glands producing different threads, but no one of famous species Spiders are not found all seven types immediately. Usually spider from one to four pairs of these glands. Weaving cobwebs The matter is not fast, and on the construction of a medium-sized network is approximately half an hour. To switch to the production of the web of another type (for catchal), spider requires a minute pass. Spiders often use web again, eating the remnants of the network, damaged by rain, wind or insects. A web is digested in their body using special enzymes.

The structure of the web silk is perfectly worked out for hundreds of millions of years of evolution. This natural material Combines two wonderful properties - strength and elasticity. The web from the web is capable of stopping an insect flying at full speed. The thread, from which spiders weave the basis of their mobile network, thinner of the human hair, and its specific (that is, recalculated per unit of mass) the tensile strength is higher than that of steel. If you compare a spider thread with a steel wire of the same diameter, then they will solve approximately the same weight. But the web silk is six times easier, which means that six times more stronger.

Like human hair, sheep's wool and silk-caterpillar cakes, a web consists mainly of proteins. According to the amino acid composition of the web of the web - speedroin - relatively close to fibroins, proteins, of which consists of silk, produced by silkwood caterpillars. And those and others contain unusually many amino acids of alanine (25%) and glycine (about 40%). The areas of protein molecules rich in alanine form the crystal areas tightly packed in the folds, ensuring high strength, and those areas where more glycine are more amorphous material that is able to stretch well and thereby makes a thread elasticity.

How is such a thread formed? There is no complete and clear answer to this question. The most detailed web spinning process was studied using an example of a spider-round ampuloid gland and Nephila Clavipes. Ampuned iron producing the most durable silk consists of three main departments: a central bag, a very long curved channel and a tubule with an outlet. From cells on the inner surface, small spherical droplets are out of the bag, containing two types of spidroine protein molecules. This viscous solution flows into the tail part of the bag, where other cells emit other type proteins - glycoproteins. Thanks to glycoproteins, the resulting fiber acquires a liquid crystal structure. Liquid crystals are remarkable in that, on the one hand, they have a high degree of orderliness, and on the other, they retain fluidity. While the thick mass moves to the outlet, long protein molecules are oriented and lined up parallel to each other in the direction of the axis of the forming fiber. At the same time, intermolecular hydrogen bonds are formed between them.

Humanity copied many of the design finds of nature, but such a complex process, like spinning of the web, is not possible to reproduce. This difficult task of scientists are now trying to solve with the help of biotechnological techniques. The first step was the allocation of genes responsible for the production of proteins from which a web consists. These genes were introduced into the cells of bacteria and yeast (see "Science and Life" No. 2, 2001). Canadian genetics went even further - they brought genetically modified goats, whose milk contains dissolved web splashes. But the problem is not only to get a spinning silk protein, it is necessary to simulate the natural spinning process. And this lesson of nature scientists still have to learn.

Despite all the dislike of mankind to spiders, as well as on the abundance of prejudice and terrible stories related to them, the question of how the spider is wearing a web, appears in the kids almost not at the same time as interest, and the water is wet. The result of the labor of these low-rotory animals is truly often reminded of elegant lace. And if the spiders themselves are unpleasant, and many are even afraid of them, the web created by them involuntarily attracts attention and causes sincere admiration.

Meanwhile, not everyone knows that such "curtains" of Tkut are not at all representatives of the detachment. Almost each of the species can create a thread for the base, but only those who hunt traps will fly. They are called teente. They are even highlighted in a separate handy of "Araneoidea". And the names of spiders, wearing hunting networks, has a total of 2308 points, among which are also poisonous - the same and Karakurt. Those who hunt, attacking an ambush or delaying prey, web is used exclusively for domestic purposes.

Unique quality Sphere "Textiles"

Despite the minor sizes of the creators, the peculiarities of the web cause some envy on the part of the crown of nature. Some of its parameters are incredible even with the achievements of modern science.

1. Strength. A web can break away from its weight only if the spider breaks it 50 meters long.
2. Exceptional subtlety. A separate web is noticeable only when it gets into a ray of light.
3. Elasticity and elasticity. Stretching thread without breaking 2-4 times, and without loss of strength.

And all these qualities are achieved without any technical equipment - a spider costs the fact that its nature provided.

Types of web

It is interesting not only how the spider is weave the web, but also that he manages to produce her different "varieties." Roughly speaking, they can be divided into three types:

Scientists stand out and one more type of web, which mirrows ultraviolet, melting butterflies. Many believe that the ready-made web necessarily has its own pattern. However, this is not the case: the names of spiders capable of creative delights can be counted without much difficulty, and all such artists belong to the araneomorphic representatives of this detachment of arthropods.

What is she needed

If you ask a person a question, why a web spider, he will answer without any doubt: for hunting. But this does not even exhaust its functions. Additionally, it is used in such directions:

• for mink insulation before wintering;
• to create cocoons in which the offspring matures;
• to protect against rain - spiders make a kind of canopies, preventing water from entering "house";
• for traveling. Some spiders move themselves and remove children from the climb of children on long web worn by the wind.

Education of building material

So, we'll figure it out still like a spider weave web. On the trouser, the "Weaver" are located six glands, which are considered transformed by the rudiments of the legs. Inside the calf, a special secret is produced, which is called liquid silk. At the exit through the spinning tubes, it begins to harden. One such thread is so subtle that it is difficult to see it even under a microscope. Pals, located closer to the "working" at the moment the glands, the spider twists several threads into one cowkin - approximately how women did in the old days when spinning from the boys. It was at that moment that the spider is wearing a web, the main characteristic of the future web is laid - stickiness or increased fortress. And what is the mechanism of choice, scientists have not yet found out.

Technology stretching

Catching network for its effectiveness should be between anything stretched - for example, between branches. When the first thread was created by its creator long enough, it stops spinning and spreads spinning bodies. So he catches the breeze. The slightest movement of the wind (even from heated land) refers a web to the neighboring "support", which is tuned. Spider on the "bridge" moves (most often having having a backside) and begins weaving a new radial thread. Only when the base is fixed, it begins to move around the circumference, sticky transverse lines into it. I must say spiders - very economical creation. They produced unnecessary damaged or old cobweb they eat, launching "recycling" on the second round of use. And the old one becomes, according to the creator, pretty quickly, as the spider is weaving the web often every day (or night, if he is a twilight hunter).

What spiders eat

A fundamentally important question is, since the spider is weaving the web still, first of all for the extraction of food. Note that all types of spiders - predators without exception. However, their diet strongly depends on the size, methods of hunting and place of residence. All tental (wearing networks) spiders insectiva, and the basis of their diet is predominantly flying forms. Although if the crawling character falls down on a web, its owner does not circulate. Those who live in minks and closer to Earth are eaten mainly straight and beetles, although they can drag a small snail or worm in their refuge. Among the diversity of what spiders eat, there are larger objects. For a watery representative of the tribe called ArgyRoneta, wraps, water insects and fish fry become victims. Exotic poultry giants hunt frogs, birds, small lizards and mice, although most of their diet make up all the same insects. But there are more arrogant views. The individuals of the MiMetidae family hunt only on spiders that do not belong to their mind. A huge Grammostola bird eats young snakes - and makes them in the affected imagination. Five family of spiders (in particular, Ancylometes) catch fish, and they are able to dive, swim, track prey and even pull it onto the land.

Brystko Spider - a real "factory" for the production of web. It is in it that are domicile spout glands that produce a sticky secret, quickly frozen in the air. Abdominal limbs form a spider thread, and mobile warts direct the thread into the right place.

The belly of spiders is movably connected to the headband of a thin jumper. Mobile and limbs consisting of 7 segments. As a result, the spider's body is able to produce a web thread and quickly eliminate the cuts in a trap. Greats of claws and bristles on the limbs help spider quickly slide on a spider thread, as if the car on the rails, allowing you to appear in the place of breakthrough of the cobweb.

Why do spiders build a catcher network?

The ability to produce a patina is not the main sign of spiders, however, the weaving of the network has become a distinctive feature of the spine-shaped. Spiders are real predators who wait for their prey in a secluded place.

Thanks to the adhesive properties of the web, there are many diverse animals in spider networks, ranging from insects and even small birds.

Adjusted to the web, the victim tries to get out of the trap, swaying the spider thread. The resulting oscillations are transmitted by a signal thread to the spider, which quickly approaches the production and injected digestive juice, which gets sacrificing, digesting internal content. Then the spider flies its web, forming a sembol of a cocoon. It remains a bit to wait until digestive enzymes make it possible to simply suck liquid content.

Web need spiders for breeding

During the reproduction period, the spider thread highlighted by the female allows the partner to find a part of the opposite sex for mating.

The males-odds are built next to the chains of females miniature marriage laces, which lure the spicy for mating, rhythmically tapping the limbs.

Men's individuals of spiders-crushes to the radial threads in the catchal network attach their web, having it horizontally. Then the male inflicts the limbs, causing oscillations. So spiders give the signal to the female about his presence. The female does not show aggression in this case and descends to the male for pairing on the attached web thread.

Web - reliable refuge for offspring

The female puts the eggs after fertilization into the cocoon, woven, from one or more silk thread. The actual cocoon is formed by 2 plates - the main and the covering plate connected by its edges. Such a strategy of a cocoon provides reliable protection Eggs.

The female first rows the main plate, similar to the spermatic grid for eggs. From above covers them by the second layer of cobwebs, which forms a crooked plate. The cocoon shell is formed tightly adjacent to the silk threads and is impregnated with a frozen secret. The walls of the cocoon become very dense almost like parchment. In some types of spiders, the female flies a loose cocoon, similar to cotton cloves.

Web like a vehicle

Some types of spiders use a web for movement by air. Spiders are climbing higher on the tree, fence, high stone, roof of the building, raising the abdomen, they produce a sticky thread. She quickly freezes in the air and spider, falling down, goes to the flight on a lightweight cob, which is carrying a counter-stream of air. So young spiders come to new habitats.

There are cases of the appearance of spiders on the deck of a sea vessel floating away from the shore.

Adult spiders in kinds with minor sizes can also move. Spiders are able to rise with the help of a spider thread, piled by the wind, to a height of up to 2-3 kilometers. Moreover, their travel spiders most often do in the quiet and peaceful days of the "Babi" summer. They overcome long distances.

As different types of spiders use web

In nature, there are tental spiders, tetting networks (brazes), but are also known and nonsense species that hunt without using a web. But they produce web in periods of linets, rest, linets, wintering. Spiders weave protective bags or shelters, woven from a cobweb.

Spiders-odders are saved while approaching a predator on a spider thread, falling down. When the danger passes, they return back to the spider thread and climb up, quickly working out their safety rope.

Web need for insurance

Spiders - Dumplings use a spider thread to attack. They attach the safety thread to any subject and jump on the planned sacrifice. South Russian Tarantula, leaving his hole, pulls behind a barely noticeable spider thread, according to which he will always find the entrance to abandoned asylum. When climbing insurance, Tarantula is unable to find his mink and goes in search of a new one. Spiders - the scapanks on the spider threads attached to the substrate, spend the night. This is a kind of insurance from predators.

The main task of the web is the capture of mining.

Web Used for Calm

Tarantulas dwell in minks, the walls of which are constantly creepy, so these shaggy spiders linse the walls of their housing with the threads of the web. Such a design protects earth walls from sprinkling. Spiders in front of the entrance to their hole weave a variety of web facilities in the form of funnels, tubes, movable lids covering the input.

Cobweb

Silver Spider hunts in water in which you need to breathe atmospheric air. Running to the bottom, the spider captures the air portion at the end of the abdomen in the form of a small bubble. On the plants, it builds an air bell in which the air is held thick woven cobwebs.

Spider-silver "seals" an oxygen molecule into a web under water, and thus breathes.

Web - for catching the victim

For catching the mining of spiders, the trackers will fly, but some species use spider arcanes and threads.

Spiders-poultry, caught prey, hold it in the Helicers, then the victim is packaged in the cobweb.

Spiders that are hidden in the depths of the hole leave the signal thread. It stretches from the abdomen before entering shelter. The oscillations of this thread are transmitted by a spider, giving a signal that the prey came from.

Web are producing not only spiders, but they are most widely used by web silk that weaving web is their distinctive feature.

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Spiders belong to the oldest inhabitants of the Earth: the traces of the first spider-shaped found in the rocks with which 340-450 million years. Spiders are about 200-300 million years older than dinosaurs and more than 400 million years - the first mammals. Nature had enough time to not only multiply the number of spider species (they are known about 60 thousand), but also to arm many of these eight-world predators an amazing hunting means - web. Pattern can be different not only different speciesBut also in one spider in the presence of certain chemicals, such as explosives or narcotic ones. Spiders were even going to run into space to study the effect of microgravity to the pattern of the web. However, the most mysteries taled the substance from which the web consists.

Web, like our hair, animal wool, filaments of silk worms, consists mainly of proteins. But the polypeptide chains in each web thread are intertwined so an unusual way that they found almost record strength. Single thread produced by spider is just as durable as steel wire equal diameter. The rope woven from the web, the thickness of everything from about the pencil, could keep the bulldozer, tank and even such a powerful airbus as Boeing 747. But the density of steel is six times more than web.

It is known how high the strength of silk yarns. A classic example is the observation made by Arizona doctor back in 1881. In the eyes of this doctor, a shootout occurred, in which one of the shooters was killed. Two bullets fell into the chest and passed the wave. At the same time, on the reverse side of each wound, pieces of a silk nasal handkerchk were sticking out. Puli passed through clothes, muscles and bones, but could not break the silk on the path.

Why is steel structures apply in the technique, and not lighter and elastic - from a material like a web? Why are silk parachutes not replace the same material? The answer is simple: try you to make such a material that spiders are easily produced daily, it will not work!

Scientists different countries The world has long studied the chemical composition of the eight of the eight-world weales, and today the picture of its structure is revealed more or less. The web of the web has an inner core from a protein called fibrine, and the concentric layers of glycoprotein nanofolokon surrounding this core. Fibroin is about 2/3 of the mass of the cobweb (as well as, by the way, and natural silk fiber). This is viscous, syrupped liquid, polymerizing and hardening in air.

Glycoprotein fiber, the diameter of which can be only a few nanometers, can be located parallel to the axis of the fibrine thread or to form a spiral around the thread. Glycoproteins are complex proteins that contain carbohydrates and have a molecular weight from 15,000 to 1,000,000 AEM, - are present not only from spiders, but also in all tissues of animals, plants and in microorganisms (some blood plasma proteins, muscular fabrics, cell shells, etc.).

In the formation of a web formed, glycoprotein fibers are connected to each other due to hydrogen bonds, as well as bonds between co-and nn groups, with a significant proportion of bonds formed in the spider glands of the spooform. Glycoprotein molecules can form liquid crystals with rod-like fragments, which are placed in parallel to each other, which gives the structure the strength of the solid when the ability to flow is like a liquid.

The main components of the web are the simplest amino acids: glycine H 2 NCN 2 coton and alanine CH 3 CHNN 2 coon. In the web contains inorganic substances - potassium hydrogen phosphate and potassium nitrate. Their functions are reduced to the protection of the web from fungi and bacteria and, probably, the creation of conditions for the formation of the thread itself in the glands.

A distinctive feature of the web - ecology. It consists of easily digestible natural substances and does not harm this environment. In this regard, the web has no analogues created by the hands of a person.

Spider can allocate up to seven different structures and properties of the threads: Some - for trapping "networks", others - for their own movement, third - for alarm system, etc. Almost all of these threads could find widespread use in industry and everyday life, if It would be possible to establish their widespread production. However, to "tame" spiders like tute silkworms, organize peculiar sparse farms is hardly possible: the aggressive spider habits and the features of the scenario in their character are unlikely to make it. And for the production of only 1 m, the tissue of the web requires "work" of more than 400 spiders.

Is it possible to reproduce the chemical processes passing in the body of spiders and copy the natural material? Scientists and engineers have already developed a Kevlar technology for quite a long time: aramid fiber:

obtained on an industrial scale and approaching the properties to the web. The fibers from Kevlar is five times weaker than the web, but still so strong that they are used for the manufacture of light bulletproof vests, protective helmets, gloves, ropes, etc. But Kevlar is obtained in the medium of hot solutions of sulfuric acid, while spider requires usual temperature. Chemists do not yet know how to get closer to such conditions.

However, biochemists approached the solution of the material science problem. First, spheres of genes were identified and deciphered, programming the formation of threads of one or another structure. Today it concerns 14 species spiders. Then, American experts from several research centers (each group independently) introduced these genes to bacteria, trying to obtain the desired proteins in the solution.

Scientists of the Canadian biotechnology company "Nexia" have introduced such genes with mice, then switched to goats, and goats began to give milk with the most protein that forms a spider thread. In the summer of 1999, two African dwarf goats, Peter and Webster, genetically programmed to give the offspring of goats, whose milk contained such a protein. This breed is good because the offspring becomes adults already in three months old. The company still keeps silence, how to make a thread from milk, but already registered the name of the new material created by it - "Biosteel" ("Biostal"). An article about the properties of "Biostali" was published in the journal "Science" ("Science", 2002, vol. 295, p. 427).

Another way was the German specialists from Gatersleben: they introduced genes like sparse, in plants - potatoes and tobacco. They managed to get in potato tubers and tobacco leaves to 2% of soluble proteins consisting mainly of speedroin (main fibrine of spiders). It is assumed that when the number of speedroin produced will become significant, medical bandages will be made first of all.

Milk, obtained from genetically modified goats, can hardly be distinguished to taste from natural. Genetically modified potatoes are similar to the usual: it is also possible to boil and fry it.