Evolution of Spider Webs

When it comes to creative methods of catching prey not many animals are able to rival spiders. Not just being among the small group of animals that create traps to catch their prey but also having many different methods of trapping the prey. And central to nearly all their trapping methods is their ability to spin a web. However, the way in which they do this is evolutionary puzzling because the way they catch their prey is quite advanced and it seems that the precursor to these abilities: just the ability to produce silk, would be useless to hunt creatures on its own. So how did spiders develop such complex prey catching abilities

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[morotr_co]

What impresses me even more than the evolution of spiders spinning silk? That someone was able to find and identify a single strand of fossilized silk. Some of these trace fossil discoveries are mind-boggling that we were able to not only find them, but also realize they weren’t just random bits of rock.

[kaito]

As a web designer myself, I have to admit that this is really impressive.

[tkdyo]

The craziest ones to me are the ones that actually use it like a net and drop on prey with it. That is some next level evolution. To not only weave the complex web, but know how to actively hunt with it.

[nelly]

The only web developers that like finding bugs

[Neuralatrophy]

Another HUGE advantage of webbing, without the complex web, would be the drag line, greatly enhancing mobility. Spiders wouldn't be as subject to falling to the ground or catastrphically loosing footing when capturing prey via pounce and bite.

[b.a.erlebacher]

I've wondered how insects developed a life strategy involving two completely different bodies - metamorphosis. The adult form arises from a couple of clumps of cells that during pupation essentially dissolve the larvae and use the result to build the adult animal. How much is known about how this process evolved?

[SpazzyMcGee]

Very interesting. I used to be afraid of spiders. I largely got over it when I realized my fear was more fundamentally a respect for spiders. They are amazing lifeforms.

[SIK_Mephisto]

I like how you pointed out that the evolution of silk predates spiders as a good chunk of mites still possess silk production abilities

[briankleinschmidt]

I live amongst them creatures, deep in the woods. I can tell you that they haven't evolved a web strong enough to trap me, but they're working on it.

[FoxHole]

What if the original gene for silk production had more to do with being able to lay eggs on land? Early surface creatures that came from the water likely layed eggs in water, but the earliest spiders could have weaved nests. Perhaps it's a spinoff of crabs, since nature loves those things.

[thesenate]

Now this is a topic I never, EVER thought about

[szithaanu]

Last week the dog rubbed against a garden spider's web and partially destroyed it. Within a minute the spider was repairing the damage. It was fascinating to watch the spider go about repairing the web. How something so small has the knowledge and instinct to create something so complex is amazing.

[tristancoetzee]

This was amazing! I'm an art student in high school and for my final artwork I need to prepare a journal for it. In said journal there need to be spider facts and just things about spiders. With the sources I can make a couple pages of spider history! This came at am AMAZING time! <3 Thank you so much :)

[adscomics]

Spiders are fascinating creatures. There's a spider that recently build this massive web on the corner of my garage door. It's been destroyed twice so far, but the spider rebuilt it each time. Their ingenuity is honestly incredible. They're the only pest that I actually try to capture and safely relocate outside of my home. Since, unlike bugs that get in my house, at least spiders perform a service.

[BugsandBiology]

Informative videos about spiders that aren't pure fearmongering are few and far between. Really appreciate this channel!

[Alfwin]

All this about web evolution is fascinating, sure, but my main takeaway from this video is that the spider at 0:31 is _absolutely adorable_ ! Just look at those big shiny eyes and that fuzzy lil face! <3

[MiaMooreA]

Thank God for this video, I was not itchy at all and now every sensation feels like a spider. Why am I like this?

[vsaw]

Big fan here, you are my favorite evolution channel on youtube! This isn't a correction as much as it is just a cool little tidbit I'm not surprised you were unaware of when putting this vid together. So at 4:42 you say spiders are the only animals that use their silk to make complex structures, but there are actually several species of caddisflies in the family Hydropsychidae that spin debris-catching nets as aquatic larvae. They feed on the organic materials carried by stream currents which get caught in said nets. I just did a quick google image search and several of these nets are highly organized, resembling a chain link fence or fishing net material. There are also some caterpillars in the family Urodidae that spin these trippy cages of hardened silk in which to pupate, which I would consider very geometric and complex.

[GlueC]

I took care of a wolf spider one winter. Living in the bathroom, she creeped out the family a little bit, but it was cold out, so we set her up with a place.
Being a wolf spider, she didn't really make webs, but she made all sorts of other things with silk. She used it to reinforce chunks of the substrate as she burrowed a nest. She set up sparse triplines above level that let her know when something was coming by. She built a nice little bag to carry her eggs in. And on an early spring day after they hatched and detached from mom, the spiderlings used the silk to kite away.. I wish I could excrete something so cool.

[FalandraAoC]

I find it fascinating how spiders spin their webs. On my balcony I observed a spider spin her web, she made such a nice shape and I loved seeing how intricate her work was with the smaller and smaller spaces towards the middle. Master craftsmanship!
Years ago I wasn't a fan of spiders at all, probably even scared but somehow, the Arachne myth from ancient greek mythology made me appreciate them and their webs, because it's actually a quiet sad story with a somewhat beautiful (yet still sad) ending. I always think of it when seeing a spider make her web 🙂