F or decades, arachnologists debated the actual purpose of stabilimenta, a special thread spiders weave into their webs. Now, ...

A study shows that spider web decorations help spiders locate prey by spreading vibrations across more silk threads.

The purpose of stabilimenta within the web is unclear. They could help collect water, regulate a spider’s body temperature, ...

The long-standing mystery around why spider webs sometimes feature "extra touches" known as stabilimenta has been revisited ...

Researchers used computer models to simulate if and how these features influence prey affect vibrations of orb-weavers' webs ...

If you're scared of spiders, Halloween certainly doesn't help. People decorate their homes with monstrous-looking fake ...

Researchers simulated the effects that different web decorations had on vibrations, adding fresh insight to a decades-old ...

After crafting a gauzy web, a spider might reckon that the construction isn’t complete. Some spiders, known as orb weavers, ...

Spiders’ webs come in all shapes and sizes, from funnel webs to sheet webs and the classic orb web – the sort you imagine for ...

Many spider species build spiral wheel-shaped webs – orb webs – to capture prey, and some incorporate so-called “stabilimenta ...

Made from a silk that’s distinct from the ordinary web scaffolding surrounding them, stabilimenta reflect ultraviolet light, leading some scientists to suggest their function is primarily ...

Natural spiderwebs are good at capturing DNA from the environment, but artificial webs are cheap and provide better control – ...