Spiders and Prey
The Spider has many different methods of capturing prey. The most common one that occurs with the majority of species has to do with them creating a web. It is silky and it is sticky so anything that gets into it will be trapped there. Sometimes they will chase prey into their webs too.
They will chase the prey the direction of their webs in order to get them cornered. The prey can often run much faster than a Spider. Yet the feet will quickly become entangled in the sticky mess of the web. This is a great advantage for the Spider and then they will bite which injects the venom into the prey. This will immobilize them and then will meet their ultimate fate.
Spiders won’t stick to their own webs though due to the oil on their limbs. They will build webs in different directions too. This will get those that crawl or those that fly. They are able to complete tasks based upon vibrations that they feel in the body. They don’t have great vision but they are able to use their senses to be able to create the Spider webs.
Many people don’t realize that the Spider can have more than one web. In fact, when they enter a location with several of them they think they have a huge infestation of Spiders. However, they actually are very intelligent creatures. They are able to have multiple webs around so that they can increase their chances of successfully getting enough to eat.
Not all Spiders use this method of being able to get their prey though. The Wolf Spider is one species that is very fast in movement. It is successfully able to chase its prey and to capture it. There is also the Door trap Spider who has a very original tactic. They do create a web but it is in a hole in the ground. They line the hole with silk and that covers it up so that prey can’t see it. They create a tunnel and the prey is caught.
When prey comes by they will fall into this trap and not be able to get back out. This method is effective and they are able to capture plenty of food this way in no time at all. The Grass Spider creates a type of funnel with the silk webbing along the blades of grass. The prey can get into the funnel but then not back out.
The Garden Spider is able to leave a dangling trap line out there. When they feel it vibrate they will run down it and capture the prey. This is a very similar concept to how humans use line to tell them when they may have a fish on the end of the hook.
Each species of Spider can have a variation too of how they are able to successfully capture prey. This allows them to be able to survive in their own habitat. There has been plenty of change that has occurred for them to continue being successful. For example some stretch webs and then release them as prey approaches.
All of this is very interesting and this allows for the research to take many interesting twists and turns. Even if you aren’t a fan of Spiders due to their appearance you will have to be amazed at the various methods they use of capturing prey. It is such diversity though that also results in tens of thousands of different species being identified.
