Untangling The Mysteries With Spider Silk
PhysOrg2012-05-03: Using high-energy X-rays provided by Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source (APS), scientists peered into the structure of orb spiders’ dragline silk. This is the chief thread that allows them to dangle precipitously off branches and window frames. “Spider silk has a unique combination of mechanical strength and elasticity that make it one of the toughest materials we know,” said Professor Jeffery Yarger of Arizona State University,… more »
Photo: Ann Novek, Great House Spider
Spiders aren’t my favorite creature close up and personal, but they are very cool. Jacob and I has a ‘pet’ banana spider, we fed Japanese beetles to. We’d break the beetles shell, then put it into the web, and watch the spider drop down, and spin a cocoon around the beetle, dragging it toward the webs center. He’d save it for later. That was the biggest banana spider I’ve ever seen, and probably the most spoiled one, too. LOL. Jacob was only two, but he loved watching that spider do his thing.
LOL! LOL! Great companion animal! Thanks for the cool story!
I thought you might enjoy it.