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danceoftheplants t1_iuw2itb wrote

Reply to comment by HyroDaily in Do spiders always build their own webs, or do they sometimes live in a web vacated by another spider? by GoodAndBluts

This is really interesting! I didn't know that about the redigesting webs.

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HyroDaily t1_iuw3r4h wrote

It isn't universal, perhaps due to the type of silk. I always see abandoned sheet webs for example. From Biology Of Spiders, I read that the webs are pretty high energy internally to make, and so it is efficient to recycle them. As far as the jumper example goes, that is total conjecture based off of 1 observation, so anyways, I'm just an enthusiast, so feel free to check my work, haha. Kinda hoping the main question gets answered more by some pros!

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prairiepanda t1_iuyo3zo wrote

I've never seen a jumping spider eat its own web (although a jumping spider's web hammock is quite different from the silk used by or weavers), but twice I have seen them collect the webs of other spiders and create dirt wads with them. I assumed they were just cleaning up their territory. Jumpers seem to be averse to walking on the sticky trap-type webs of other spiders.

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waylandsmith t1_iuxtzui wrote

Many spiders (particularly orb-weavers) ingest and re-build their webs daily.

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danceoftheplants t1_iuy7xiq wrote

That's really cool to learn. I've never sat and watched a spider for a long time.. next time I find a web outside I'm gonna take a closer look!

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