Spiders web is known not only for it's amazing structure but also for its elasticity and strength. In fact, humans have been collecting and using spiders silk in making clothing and reproducing it in the laboratory to create strong materials. Different studies have been made behind the spiders' web.
Additional information about the silk has been made by the team of researchers in U.S and Slovenia. The study found a new protein in the strongest spider web material in Darwin's bark spider.
The Darwin bark spider (Caerostris darwini) is known for its spoke wheel shaped web making the largest orb web, which spin above the surfaces of streams. Its measures range up to 30 square feet (2.8 square meters) in size. The web is capable of absorbing greater amounts of energy before it totally breaks. It traps prey such as mayflies, damselflies, dragonflies, and bees flying over the water. Females of the spider's measure about 1 inch or 2 centimeters in body length while males are smaller, measure about a quarter of an inch in length. However, the strength of their web are mind blowing and seems to be the best and most dominant among other spiders.
Its strength is ten times stronger compared with the Kevlar. Aside from this, based on previous research, the, spider makes seven different kinds of silk, which plays an individual role in each part of the web. The team focused on the dragline silk and the gland that produces it, according to Phys.
Two types of spintronics (type of repetitive proteins) were found by the team; MaSp1 and MaSp2, which are found on many spider silk. Aside from the two silks, they found another spidroin from the spider and named it MaSp4a. Based on their study, the protein contains high quantities of amino acid called proline that is known to be associated with elasticity. Also, some other components were found in the two previous protein (MaSp1 and MaSp2).
Moreover, the gland involved in the production of the silk "ampullae" is longer compared with the other species of spider. This information is seen to provide strength of the silk being produced.
