Summary
A spider's web is more than a trap -- it is a tool the spider builds to sense the world. Deep Look shows how a spider reads the tiny tugs and vibrations in its silk to know exactly what has landed and where.
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All ages
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Talk about it
A spider spins silk into a web outside its body, then feels every vibration through its legs. The web works like an extension of the spider's senses -- a structure it makes to both trap prey and 'listen.'
- How does a spider know when something is caught in its web?
- Why is a web useful both for catching food and for sensing?
- How is a spider's web like a tool that it builds for itself?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: silk, web, vibration, structure.
Try it: Pluck one string of a rubber band stretched between your fingers. Write how a spider feels tugs on its web the same way.