How Do ‘Spiders’ Spin Their Silk and Why Is It So Strong?

Spiders spin silk using special parts in their bodies called spinnerets, like tiny thread machines. Their silk is super strong because it's made of a special protein that can stretch and hold on tight, almost like magic glue!

How It Works When a spider wants to make a web, it pulls out long threads from its body and weaves them into [patterns](/search?q=patterns). These threads are made of something called spidroin, which is kind of like super-strong sticky [string](/search?q=string).

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Examples

A spider spins a web like a weaver using thread from its body.
Spider silk is so strong that it could hold up a small car if it was big enough!
The sticky parts of the web help catch insects, just like glue.

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Categories: Biology · spider,silk,biology,materials science