Ask Smithsonian: How Do Spiders Make Their Webs?
![](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/onLrZRIyhjjpwZRUWxvruqh_9ZY=/800x800/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/ef/64/ef648f30-d5ff-473e-8345-48afaa570b7d/12012015-as-spider-webs-hero-v1.jpg)
Learning exactly what those spinnerets are doing might just generate a whole new web of understanding
![](https://stri.si.edu/sites/default/files/styles/stri-fpp__content-slider/public/fpp/images/content-slide/hormone_hang_ups_slideshow_1_1.jpg?itok=6NDo58cj)
Hormone Hang-Ups Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
![](https://www.riveredgenaturecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/stabilmentum12-1-214x300.jpg)
Bug o'the Week – Big Orbweaver Spiders Revisited – Riveredge Nature Center
![](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/IcAquPM2u33mpcZ1lwd8j5tpAd4=/1000x750/filters:no_upscale()/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/bb/77/bb77cbe0-6f37-4a9e-95f7-cae2c0e7d8cd/garden_center_spider.jpg)
Spiders Spin Electrically Charged Silk To Make It Sticky, Smart News
![](https://assets.isu.pub/document-structure/230130064518-c8f8cd592112c6afeb0b7d128210d564/v1/a704c287b3e596a42d2dae752ae04845.jpeg)
Life Through the ART BUILDING DESIGN - Issuu
![](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/2AAGq19pu0DLYYRbFTshSNBHOOU=/1000x750/filters:no_upscale():focal(980x333:981x334)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/37/de/37dedfe8-f87f-4ed1-bc48-43eb5ec5eede/gettyimages-1330737383_desktop.jpg)
Fourteen Ways That Spiders Use Their Silk, Science
![](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/qoy6X2GsWib6NsPRB6iRzZx_CIQ=/fit-in/1600x0/filters:focal(2420x1625:2421x1626)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/b9/17/b9172ffa-d8be-46df-a185-1d6138a39430/gettyimages-1292880484.jpg)
Large, Parachuting Spiders Could Soon Invade the East Coast, Study Finds, Smart News
![](https://kidspacemuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Spider-1.jpg)
Ask Kidspace: Spiders - Kidspace Children's Museum
![](https://oxford.shorthandstories.com/spiders-surgery-and-sustainable-silk/assets/tKacBo0LE8/video_of_spider-original-_free_pixabay_frame-0ms-750x422.jpg)
Why don't spiders get stuck in their own webs? - Discover Wildlife, spider web
How does a spider know how to make spiderwebs? - Quora
How do spiderwebs “think”? - Quora
How does a spider know when to stop weaving a web? Does it run out of material first or do they seem to have a formula, like a 2-inch spider always weaves
![](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/0T_7F8MjMq_Ur2LhliDUU0PIGWY=/fit-in/1600x0/https%3A%2F%2Ftf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ffiler%2F31%2F40%2F314060ad-6313-4afd-8537-87c3ef1e7f4a%2Fspider_fish.jpg)
Spiders All Over the World Have a Taste for Fish, Science