Orb weavers prove to be nature’s engineers

By My Courier-Tribune

Have you looked out your window and been amazed at the beautiful engineering of a spider web covered in dew? Those webs are made by a group of spiders called orb weavers. Orb weavers get their name for the round or “orb” shape of their web, according to a release from the Missouri Department of Conservation.

This web is an engineering feat, beginning as the spider floats a line to a nearby surface. Then the spider drops another line producing a “Y” shape. The rest of the support lines are constructed before the sticky spiral is woven. Some orb-weavers build their nest each night and tear it down each morning by eating the silk.

Orb weavers tend to build their webs in fairly open areas in grasslands, some will even build their webs on trails through the timber. These webs catch various flying or jumping insects such as grasshoppers, cicadas, and katydids. Once the insect is caught in the web, the spider will usually inject it with venom and warp its prey in sheets of silk. This silk is packed with protein and is the strongest fiber on earth. Most orb weavers will construct a zigzag pattern of silk, the stabiliuentum, near the hub of the web, this may deter birds from flying into the web.

As you wake up and take an early morning walk through your garden or take hike on one of our beautiful trails, be alert for the web of an orb weaver. For more information on orb weavers and spiders, visit Spider Facts via the Missouri Department of Conservation website at mdc.mo.gov/wildlife/wildlife-facts/insect-spider-and-kin-facts/spider-facts.