Origin

• Silk webbing is produced from spiders. All spiders are capable of producing this silk webbing.
  
  

Physical Attributes

• Silk webbing is the strongest fiber found in nature. The strands of silk are very thin, only about .001 to .004 mm thick. The amino acids and specific kind of proteins that make up the silk strands are what give it great strength and elasticity.
  
  

Production

• Spiders have seven different pairs of organs called spinnerets. These are located in the mid to lower abdomen area. Each of these spinnerets produce a different kind of silk and each have a different purpose. As the liquid protein is released from the spinneret, it solidifies and becomes thread.
  
  

Uses

• Spiders use the silk strands to transport themselves through the air. Silk strands have also been used as crosshairs in gun scopes. Silk that is used for cloth is actually produced by the milk moth larvae. Due to the strength of silk strands, there is even research being conducted to see if it can somehow be used to make bulletproof armor.
  
  

Types

• The spinnerets within the spider produce silk that is used for attaching the dragline, for anchoring, making sticky traps for their prey, producing silk that they wrap their captured prey in once captured, for making tangling strands that prevents their prey from using their claws, bristles or spines to hurt them, and for making the silk webbing that protects their eggs.