Wednesday 10 July 2013

Spider Webs Lure Prey Using Electrostatic Attraction

image credit: tom burke cc

A recent study published in Scientific Reports, an online science journal, revealed that webs of the common garden spider - made from silk thread - are attracted to electrostatically charged objects. Honeybees and fruit flies, for example, generate an electric charge when they flap their wings.

Positively charged insects and water droplets falling towards a grounded orb web reveal rapid and substantial web attraction. Radial and particularly spiral silk threads are quickly attracted to the electrified bodies.

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