Looking in my garden it appears to be that the larger the spider is, the larger the gaps are in their webs. Is this because they cannot make webs with strands close to each other due to their size, or is it because they do not want to catch smaller prey and expend unnecessary energy?
2006-07-24 06:04:42 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
Generally speaking, the larger the web, and the
farther apart the turns of the sticky spiral, the
larger the insects the web will catch. Larger
spiders do tend to make the gaps in the web larger
but it's not an entirely uniform relationship. Some
spiders of the same size but different species
make webs with the sticky parts of different
spacing. Also, even in the same web the threads
may be further apart near the edges of the web
than in the center.
2006-07-24 08:31:38 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 1⤋
Typically the size of the web is proportional to the size of the spider. It mostly has to do with supporting weight, prey capture size and strength. Small spiders dont have to eat as often or as much as the larger conspecifics, so their webs are usually smaller, also the insect size category they aer hunting for are generally smaller as well.
Webs take considerable energy to produce, if a smaller spider were to make a larger, web all this means is that it would take more energy to build, and maintain.
Larger spiders can afford (energetically speaking) to build larger webs, they have more energy at their disposal to do so, the prey that they target is much larger than that of smaller individuals and they are also much heavier than the smaller ones, so they need the extra strength to support their weight.
It is almost a mathematic equation as to how large the web is to be. It is calculated based on energy required, time to build risk of visibility to predators, and chance of a successful meal....the spiders calculate this acoording to their body size and their location, and who says spiders arent smart?
Good Question!
I hope this helps!
2006-07-24 06:36:29 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It could because their larger webs caught larger prey, the bodies of which they removed after they fed.
2006-07-24 11:06:08 · answer #3 · answered by elitetrooper459 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it's because they don't want to catch smaller food. Honestly, I have no idea, it sounds good.
2006-07-24 06:09:03 · answer #4 · answered by mageta8 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
ewwwwwwwwww never get close enough to a spider or a web, they might eatme up i hate the bloody things.
2006-07-24 06:13:44 · answer #5 · answered by sophie 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
excellent question that
2006-07-24 06:11:32 · answer #6 · answered by tunachunks199 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
maybe
2006-07-24 06:09:04 · answer #7 · answered by dianed33 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋