SPIDERS.FYI / The digital spider museum
Which web is this?
Orb, sheet or loose tangle? Recognise the architecture in schematic pictures.
Your choices stay in this tab. Nothing is stored or transmitted. The diagrams show typical features and do not replace species identification.
Simplified learning diagram, not to scale or an identification reference.
Spokes and capture threads around a centre.
An orb web: frame threads and radii support the capture surface. The diagram shows architecture, not one species’ exact construction sequence.
Australian Museum · Silk: the spider’s success story ↗Simplified learning diagram, not to scale or an identification reference.
A silk sheet with threads above it.
A sheet web. Threads above it can intercept prey that falls onto the sheet. Many linyphiids use such webs.
Australian Museum · Silk: the spider’s success story ↗Simplified learning diagram, not to scale or an identification reference.
A silk sheet leads into a retreat tube.
A funnel web, as built by many house spiders. Similar architecture does not make European house spiders Australian funnel-web spiders.
Natural History Museum · Spiders in your home ↗Simplified learning diagram, not to scale or an identification reference.
An irregular three-dimensional silk framework.
A tangle web. Its loose appearance does not mean it lacks function: such webs can restrain prey and transmit vibrations.
Australian Museum · Silk: the spider’s success story ↗