The 7 Types of Spider Webs and the Incredible Spiders That Make Them

Spider webs are made from a protein fiber which we call silk. It is both strong and stretchy but not all spider silk is the same, there are several different types. Spiders produce silk using special organs called spinnerets, located typically on the underside of their abdomen. They look a bit like an icing nozzle and spiders can have a cluster of them which are all capable of making their own silk. Not all silk is used for making webs, some spiders use it as a drag line. Others create parachutes for travel over larger distances.

There are seven broad categories of web and they are not all used for catching food. Some spiders use webs as sleeping bags where they can rest and others use them as moulting platforms. Here we will examine these unique and beautiful structures and the incredible spiders that create them.

Orb Webs

If you ask a child to draw a spider’s web, this is what you will get! Orb webs have the classic circular net appearance and are visible in gardens on dewy mornings. Several types of spiders use this design of web and they are a highly effective way of catching prey using the minimum amount of silk and therefore expending the least amount of energy.

The theory is that flying insects do not notice the web, fly into it, and get stuck. Orb webs created by Araneidae, Tetragnathidae and Theridosomatidae spiders are made of sticky silk so the insect adheres to the strands and cannot move. However, the Uloboridae spiders make their webs out of a wooly silk (called cribellate) which has velcro-like strands in which the insect’s legs and bristles get stuck.

Orb-weaving spiders take about two hours to create a new web. They start by drifting a silk line across a gap using the breeze. Different types of spiders have slightly different designs. Most orb webs are only up during one day or one night and then have to be rebuilt but the damage caused by struggling prey can sometimes be repaired.

Funnel Webs

Perhaps the most famous group of spiders that construct funnel-shaped webs is the Australian funnel-web spiders. There are 36 of them and some are dangerous as they produce a fast-acting and highly toxic venom. Male Atrax robustus spiders (Sydney funnel-web spiders) are responsible for over 10 deaths a year. That said, there are plenty of other harmless spiders in many other parts of the world who create webs shaped like a funnel. This includes the Agelenidae family which are common in the United States and are often called funnel weaver spiders.

As their name suggests, funnel webs are like a tube with a wide mouth. They are constructed as a sheet of closely woven silk but can have looser threads. There are typically silk trip-lines that alert the waiting spider to the presence of prey. It then rushes out and secures the meal. Interestingly, it is not unusual to see another spider taking over a vacant funnel web – albeit with a little refurbishment where needed.

Tangled Webs

The daddy long legs spiders (Pholcus phalangioides) have very small bodies but long and thin legs. They like constant temperatures which is why they are commonly found in homes, garages and sheds and this is where you will find their webs. They create a three-dimensional criss-cross of silk which has no particular design and looks a little messy! You will often spot them in the corner of rooms and behind furniture.

Similar types of spider webs are created outside by Theridiidae spiders which include Steatoda nobilis, otherwise called the Noble False Widow Spider. Their tangled web is often in the shape of a funnel. The plan is that insects will get stuck in the web and the spider will rush over and eat them. If they are disturbed, the spider may bounce up and down, vibrating within the web until they look like a blur. This puts potential predators off!

Lacy Webs

The cribellate (lace-weaving) spider (Amaurobius) creates an untidy type of spider web from silk that looks blueish-grey when it is fresh. There is a retreat in the center where the spider waits for prey. They are typically found on walls with crevices or stretched across closely-cropped hedges. One example is the web made by the black lace-weaver which is found in many parts of the U.S.

These webs are designed to trap crawling insects and are made from wooly rather than sticky silk. The insect gets its legs entangled in it and the spider races out to capture it. The more complex the surface, the more untidy the web looks.

Radial Webs

Radial webs are built around a crevice – often in a wall or across the ends of broken branches. There is a central retreat where the spider waits and a number of trip wires which are called radial threads. One type of spider that builds them is the Segestriidae which are also called tube web spiders.

This web is not intended to trap insects. Instead, the spider is alerted to the presence of a potential meal when the trip wires are vibrated by the insect. It then races out at great speed and grabs its meal.

Sheet Webs

The sheet weavers or money spiders create webs low down on grassy fields that become visible when dew forms on them. They are common in North America, Europe, and parts of Russia and are often found where aphids and other small insects gather to feed.

The sheet type of spider web works in two ways. Sometimes the insects get caught up in the threads and are trapped until they are eaten. At other times, the sheet is used as a base from which the spider can launch its attacks directly on unsuspecting prey.

Purse Webs

You are most likely to find purse-web spiders in damp woodlands in temperate and tropical climates. One genera, the Sphodrus spiders, are found in the eastern half of the United States. Others live in Europe, Japan, Myanmar (Burma), Java, and tropical parts of Africa.

These are essentially burrowing spiders and their webs are in the shape of compact, upright silk tube that sticks out from their burrows and looks like an old-fashioned pull-string purse. It is between 0.5 to 10 inches long depending on the type of spider. The spider camouflages the tube by adding debris to it so that it looks very like a twig or root. Unsuspecting little creatures crawl across them and the vibrations are sensed by the spider who is waiting just inside their burrow. They rush out of the tube and secure the meal.