Why don't spiders get stuck in their own webs?

Emma Chaplin
, 13 October 2020
Why don't spiders get stuck in their own webs?
Spiders web © Barry Yates

By Charlotte Owen, WildCall Officer

A spider’s web is made of silk, and while the exact design will vary by species the overall function is the same: a sticky net to trap unsuspecting prey. But not all of the silk strands are actually sticky and a typical web is constructed from several different types of silk. The silk is produced in special ‘spinneret glands’ located at the tip of the spider’s abdomen, and each gland produces a different type of silk that will be used for a particular purpose. 

Spider webs©Alan Price, Gatehouse StudioSussex Wildlife Trust

© Alan Price

A spider will start its web with extra-strong ‘structural’ silk to create the basic framework and anchor the web firmly to its surroundings with blobs of a tough, cement-like silk. Then the radial strands are added, like the spokes on a bicycle wheel, and these are spun from a third type of silk that’s extra stretchy so it can withstand the impact of a colliding fly without breaking.  When the spokes are complete, the spider weaves a spiral out of the same kind of silk before repeating its spiral with sticky ‘capture’ silk to complete its deadly trap. 

A spider can move effortlessly through its own web, diligently testing its threads or racing towards a freshly-caught fly, with no fear of getting stuck thanks to a few clever adaptations. Only the very tips of its legs make contact with the silk and an arrangement of dense, bristly hairs beneath the main claws help to minimise the area that actually comes into contact with the glue, so that even a sticky thread is easily detached.

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1783139955.62740 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1783139955.66160.0341Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1783139955.66170.0002Server address: 216.73.217.177
1783139955.66180.0001Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1783139955.66180Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/why-dont-spiders-get-stuck-in-their-own-webs
    [s] => why-dont-spiders-get-stuck-in-their-own-webs
    [1] => why-dont-spiders-get-stuck-in-their-own-webs
)
1783139955.66240.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783139955.66440.002 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1783139955.66830.0039 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1783139955.6720.0037INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1783139955.67430.0023 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22597385
1783139955.67520.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22597385
1783139955.67610.0009 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-07-04 04:39:00' AND saleTo>'2026-07-04 04:39:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1783139955.67760.0016 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='why-dont-spiders-get-stuck-in-their-own-webs')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-04 04:39:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1783139955.68080.0032 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783139955.68150.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=2328 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-04 04:39:00'
1783139955.68250.001 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1783139955.68330.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1783139955.68420.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=181 LIMIT 1
1783139955.68480.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=84 LIMIT 1
1783139955.68550.0007Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783139955.68570.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1783139955.68670.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-04 04:39:00' AND postSlug='why-dont-spiders-get-stuck-in-their-own-webs'
1783139955.70670.02Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783139955.70730.0006 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1783139955.70920.0019Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1783139955.70940.0003 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1783139955.72220.0127 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1783139955.72520.003 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783139955.73470.0096 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783139955.73590.0012 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783139955.73850.0025Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1783139955.73850.0001 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783139955.73940.0009 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783139955.74020.0008 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783139955.74660.0065 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783139955.74790.0012 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783139955.74860.0007 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783139955.75250.0039 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783139955.75740.0049 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1783139955.76020.0028 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1783139955.76080.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783139955.76120.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1783139955.76780.0067Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1783139955.76840.0005 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='why-dont-spiders-get-stuck-in-their-own-webs')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-04 04:39:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1783139955.77190.0035 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783139955.77530.0034 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783139955.77940.0042Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1783139955.78060.0012 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=2328 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1783139955.83080.0502 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1783139955.8310.0002Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783139955.83120.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1783139955.8320.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1783139955.83290.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1783139955.83350.0006 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783139955.83580.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783139955.83630.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783139955.83820.0018 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783139955.83890.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783139955.83960.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783139955.84020.0006 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783139955.84260.0024 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783139955.84320.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783139955.84520.002 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783139955.84850.0034 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1783139955.84930.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1783139955.84970.0005 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783139955.85210.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783139955.85260.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783139955.85470.002 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783139955.8570.0023 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783139955.85780.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783139955.85830.0005 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783139955.86040.0021 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783139955.86090.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783139955.86310.0021 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783139955.86440.0014Request time: 0.2411
1783139955.86450Process time: 0.2408
1783139955.86450Memory: 1.6223