Most Spiders Are Mostly Harmless and Good Pest Controllers - Orb Webs, Web Types, and Spider Silk

Jul 17, 2026

Upload by Jiven

Explains why many spiders appear scary yet are mostly harmless, highlighting their role as beneficial pest controllers that consume large numbers of flies, mosquitoes, and cockroaches. Describes spider anatomy and classification as arachnids rather than insects, and outlines different web-building strategies including orb webs, tent or hammock webs, tunnel webs, and trapdoor hunting. Details how orb webs function, the methodical recycling of silk protein, and spider silk’s exceptional strength and elasticity compared with Kevlar and steel, noting ongoing attempts to produce it artificially.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLifestyle

FormatPDF

Pages34

Reading Time52 min

AccessFree to download

Spider myths and their real impact

Beneficial pest control

Spider anatomy and classification

How spiders capture prey

Orb webs and silk recycling

Other web types: tent, tunnel, trapdoor

Spider silk and its properties

Strength and elasticity

Attempts to produce silk artificially

English 1 2 What do most of us do when we spot a spider? We either scream, or roll up a magazine and WHACK! Actually, there's no need to do either because spiders, hairy and scary though they may appear to be, are mostly harmless and good pest controllers. 3 There are a few poisonous spiders, like the Black Widow, but these are just a tiny fraction of the more than 45,000 different types we have so far discovered in the world. Most Spiders eat vast numbers of flies, mosquitoes and cockroaches, so if you are one of those, you have to watch out! 4 With eight legs, six to eight eyes, and a body that is divided into two parts, spiders are not insects but belong to the order Arachnids and are related to ticks, mites and scorpions. Their size varies from so small, that you need a magnifying glass to see them properly, to as large as a dinner plate! And they're best known for their ability to spin webs; those same webs your mother swats a broom at. 6 But even the most ardent spider-hater would agree, that an orb web beaded with dew in the early morning, looks like a gorgeous pearl necklace. The spider web's main function is to trap insects. An orb-weaving spider spins a new web every evening and takes it down the following morning by eating up the silken threads so that she can recycle and reuse the protein in the silk to ensure that the precious substance is not wasted. It takes a spider about half an hour to spin anew web; they do this in a very methodical way. Spiders are very careful not to get caught in their own sticky web, and the sticky threads (beaded with tiny drops of glue) are laid downright at the end of the process. The little central area, where she sits and waits is made of non-sticky threads, as are the threads she runs along in order to reach her prey. 7 Not all spiders build beautiful orb webs; some build huge tent or hammock webs made of crisscrossing non-sticky silks that snare insects by tripping them up. Others make tunnel webs. Trapdoor spiders sink silk-lined shafts into the ground, topped off with a silken trapdoor and wait for their prey to move over it. 8 Spiders' silk is one of the strongest substances in the world, stronger than Kevlar (bullet proof jackets are made from this) and several times stronger and more elastic than steel wire of the same thickness. Strands of spider-silk the thickness of a pencil would be able to stop a Boeing 747 in mid-flight! We are trying to make spider silk artificially, but haven't succeeded as yet.

FAQs

Are most spiders poisonous or dangerous to people?

Most spiders are harmless to humans and act as good pest controllers. Only a tiny fraction of the over 45,000 known types are poisonous, such as the Black Widow.

Why are spider webs useful for catching insects?

The main function of a spider web is to trap insects. An orb-weaving spider builds a new web each evening, then removes it by eating the silken threads in the morning to recycle the silk protein.

How do spiders build different kinds of webs besides orb webs?

Not all spiders build orb webs. Some make huge tent or hammock webs, while others create tunnel webs; trapdoor spiders use silk-lined shafts with a silken trapdoor to wait for prey.

What makes spider silk remarkable, and has it been replicated?

Spider silk is among the strongest natural substances, stronger than Kevlar and more elastic than steel wire of the same thickness. Scientists have tried to make spider silk artificially, but have not succeeded yet.

Jul 17, 2026

Upload by Jiven