How Spiders Spin Their Webs

A spider has no ruler, no glue bottle and no hands — yet it builds a perfect sticky net overnight. How does it do it?

In this lesson you will discover the spider's silk factory, watch a web get built step by step, and even test the sticky trap yourself. 🧪

Tip: tap, click and drag the pictures — this lesson likes to be poked!

Where does the silk come from? 🧵

Silk is made inside the spider's body, then squeezed out through tiny nozzles at the back called spinnerets. Tap the glowing spots to find out more.

👆 Tap a glowing dot to learn its job.

Spider silk starts as a liquid and turns solid the moment it is pulled into the air!

Silk is stronger than it looks 💪

A single strand is thinner than your hair, yet for its weight spider silk is tougher than steel and can stretch like elastic without snapping.

🪶 Super light — a web weighs almost nothing.
🌀 Stretchy — it bends when a bug crashes in, so it doesn't break.
💧 Two kinds — some threads are dry (for walking) and some are sticky (for catching). You'll test this soon!

The spider makes different silks for different jobs — like having a toolbox full of threads.

Watch the web get built 🏗️

An orb web is built in a clever order. Press the button to spin the next thread and see each step appear.

Step 0: An empty space between two branches. Ready to begin?

dry silk (frame & spokes) sticky silk (spiral)

Why build it in that order? 🤔

The spider is smart about it:

🌉 Bridge & frame first — like the edges of a trampoline, they hold everything up.
➖ Dry spokes next — these are the spider's walkways. It can run along them safely because they are not sticky.
🌀 Sticky spiral last — the spider lays this from the outside inwards to catch dinner.

The spider even eats its old web to recycle the silk and make a fresh one — nothing is wasted! ♻️

Which thread traps the fly? 🪰

A fly lands on the web. Some threads are dry (safe to walk on) and one is the sticky spiral. Tap the thread you think will catch the fly.

Tap a thread to test it.

Hint: sticky threads have tiny glue droplets like a string of beads. Dry threads are smooth and straight.

Build a web in the right order 🧩

Tap the four steps in the order a spider builds them, from first to last.

1

2

3

4

Pick the first step.

🎉🕸️

You did it!

Now you know how a spider spins its web:

🧵 Silk is made in silk glands and squeezed out of spinnerets.
🌉 The spider builds the bridge and frame first.
➖ Then the dry spokes — its safe walkways.
🌀 Finally the sticky spiral that traps flies.
♻️ Silk is stronger than steel for its weight — and can be recycled!

Next time you spot a web sparkling with dew, you'll know the amazing engineering behind it. 🌟

Great work, little scientist! 🕷️