FACTS ABOUT SPIDERS:
* Spiders can live without food and water for long periods of time.
* Spiders are invertebrates (no backbones) and not insects.
* There can be about nearly 5 million spiders per hectare in certain places.
* Most spiders have 8 legs, an abdomen and the thorax.
* Not all spiders spin webs.
* They have 6 or 8 eyes, some have none.
* They inject venom throught their fangs to kill the prey.
* Spiders digest their food outside their body.
* They lay eggs.
* A jumping spider can jump up to 25 times its own body length.
* Arachnophobia is a term which means "fear of spiders".
* Most spiders can see only objects that are close, but they have specialized hair which helps them to keep a sense about their surroundings.
* Most male spiders are smaller than females.
* Most spiders are harmless to humans, but some (rare) can be deadly (like Black Widow).
* The weight of insects eaten by spiders every year is believed to be more than the total weight of the all humans.
* The spider spins a watery fluid. As soon as it hits the air it becomes hard.
* There are about 35,000 different spider species known to mankind.
FACTS ABOUT SPIDER WEB (or silk):
No one likes spider webs (Cobwebs) in their home or even outside, but they are essential to most spiders as they use it to trap insects, on which the spider feeds.
Spider webs can be found in many shapes and sizes, and are designed to best suit it's needs like - size and kind of insects in the environment, weather, spider's own size & weight and a design that allows the spider to move comfortably around the web. Spiders have special glands called "spinneret" located in their abdomen which helps them to produce the silk for web. It's rare but sometimes spiders may even build webs together in the same area.
Spider silk can have many uses like using it like a parachute to get carried away for transportation, to protect egg sacs and to wrap prey.
STRENGTH OF SPIDER's SILK/Web:
Yes, when compared on the weight-to-strength basis the Spider web strings are five times stronger than the mighty steel. The silk of spider is extremely lightweight and can stretch up to 35-40% without breaking. A typical strand of garden spider silk has a diameter of about 0.003 mm and most spiders can produce 3-7 different kinds of silks and each has a different use.
