Page 15 - Spider (Garden Minibeasts Up Close)
P. 15
The liquid silk is made
by silk glands inside
a spider’s body. The
glands are linked to
spinnerets at its tail
end. As the silk comes
out of the spinnerets
it instantly hardens
into fibers. The spider
pulls on these to draw
them out, and the harder
it pulls, the stronger the
silk becomes. Soft, strong silk is ideal
for protecting this
spider’s eggs.
Did You Know? Spiders use their silk to
The silk produced by make protective cases for
tropical golden orb weaver their eggs, soft nests for
spiders is the strongest their young, and webs to
known natural fiber. On trap their prey.
some Pacific islands, local
fishermen use the webs
to catch fish!
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