Cobwebs Vs. Spider Webs

If you are one of those folks who have gotten into a heated 'cobwebs vs spider webs' argument, then you have landed on the right page which will neutralize the debate once and for all. The single fact that can defuse this argument is that cobwebs as well as spider webs are technically the same thing! So there is no reason for argument! That means, both cobwebs and spider webs are made by spiders! The only difference is that, those that are called 'cobwebs', mostly irregular in form, are made by a particular sub-species of spiders. While, what we call 'spider webs' are more elaborately designed and built by an even different sub-species. In this article I will discuss the sophisticated traps designed by spiders, that are cobwebs and spider webs!

Cobwebs
Here I discuss one side of the cobwebs vs spider webs comparison, which is, the irregular tangled webs created by our eight-legged friends, that are cobwebs. The origin of the word 'cobweb' probably comes from an old English word for spider, which is 'coppe'.

What are known as cobwebs are typical webs, produced by the family of spiders, called the Theridiidae. They are also known as tangled web spiders or comb-footed spiders. They are one of the largest families of spiders with over 2200 species! With so many species, identifying spiders is a tough job! Cobwebs are made up of haphazard patterns of lines stitched together at random, according to the whim of spiders. These are the spider webs you notice, which are quietly created in unused corners of your house. What you see are actually the temporary abodes of spiders, which also double up as traps. There may or may not be a spider in the sticky, tangled mass, to claim ownership! They keep migrating according to the availability of prey. Such abandoned, sticky webs eventually gather lots of dust, making them more visible and creepy cobwebs!

The most common members of the Theridiidae family in USA, are the Achaearanea tepidariorum and the long legged spiders called Pholcus phalangioides. One notorious member of this family, which makes cobwebs is the 'Black Widow spider'. One member of long legged, Pholcidae family, the long legged cellar spider also creates irregular cobwebs. Many times, the strands are not even parts of a web, but just traveling 'spider silk' ropes that a spider launches to move around. These strands are blown away with the wind and have a habit of getting tangles our faces!

Spider Webs
The other side of the cobwebs vs spider webs comparison are the more elegant and sophisticated webs designed by spiders, known generically as just spider webs. These spider webs, just like cobwebs are created from a proteinaceous fluid emitted by specialized glands called spinnerets located at the abdominal tips of spiders. The material that they are made up of is known as spider silk.

There are different types of specialized glands that create seven different types of spider silk. Each one of the silk types is devoted to a specific part of a web or is used for a special purpose other than web building. There are seven types of known glands in the spiders. Depending on the species, the spiders are variously known to have one, three or four types of glands. The Spider's web can be broadly classified into five types, other than the common cobwebs. They are:

• Spiral orb webs, created mostly by the Araneidae, Tetragnathidae and Uloboridae families of spiders.
• Funnel Webs
• Tubular Webs which run along the ground
• Sheet Webs
• Tent Webs

There are different types of spider silk, which serve different purposes like:

• Building the main framework of a web to catch prey
• Building the spokes of the web
• Wrapping and packing fresh caught prey for later consumption!
• Throwing a web strand in the air and ballooning their way out with a drift

One interesting fact, whereby spider webs win the cobwebs vs spider webs comparison is that their tensile strength is greater than steel, of same weight! Research is underway to develop industrial applications of spider silk!

Hope this article has served to intrigue you about the amazing creatures that spiders are, and the sophisticated traps like webs which they create! Hope this has concluded the cobwebs vs spider webs debate for you!