Thursday, November 3, 2011

Tiny Spider Spins World's Largest Web

I've said it before and I'll say it again. This little blue and green rock that we call home is an amazing place. I was reminded of that fact earlier today while reading this story about a tiny spider that has created the largest web in the world.

The Darwin spider, which was only just discovered last year, measures just 2 cm in length, and yet produces the strongest web of any arachnid on the planet. Not only that, the little eight-legged insect can be quite industrious too. The one mentioned in the story for example, has spun more than 25 meters (82 feet) of silk, creating a massive net to ensnare its prey.

Apparently, the Darwin spider builds such massive webs by building in a traditional manner at first, but eventually, when it wants to expand over large distances, it simply fires out long strands of webbing and hopes for the best. Eventually, the sticky-silk will connect with something, and then the little guy starts the engineering process anew. In the case of the spider in this particular story, she fired her webs across a river, and ended up with a large trap to lure in insects as they fly up and out of the water.

All told, the average Darwin spider apparently builds a web that is 2.7 square meters in size, which is about 8.8 square feet. Can you imagine accidentally running into that while walking through the woods at night? *shivers*