image: Hyptiotes holding trap line (connected to main web) in first two pairs of legs. view more
Credit: S.I. Han
A study explores how spider webs use power amplification to catch prey from afar. The human ability to use constructed devices such as catapults and ballistae to achieve power amplification in movement is considered unique. S. I. Han and colleagues demonstrate how spider webs use power amplification to catch prey using energy stored in spider silk. The authors analyzed high-speed videos of triangle weaver spiders (Hyptiotes cavatus) and the spiders' web kinematics while they hunted prey. The authors report that the spider stretches and tightens its web and holds the web under tension for hours. When prey comes in contact with the web, the spider releases its hold on an anchor line, causing the tension in the web to drive the spider forward at accelerations up to 772.85 m/s2. When the acceleration of the spider and web comes to a sudden stop, silk wraps around the prey from all directions. Compared to classical anatomical power amplification, using a constructed device such as a spider web offers many of the advantages of human tools, given that the webs are replaceable and allow spiders to subdue prey from afar, according to the authors.
Article #18-21419: "External power amplification drives prey capture in a spider web," by S. I. Han, H. C. Astley, D. D. Maksuta, and T. A. Blackledge.
MEDIA CONTACT: S. I. Han, University of Akron, OH; tel: 408-623-6280; email: sih12@zips.uakron.edu
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Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences