Spider web
A
spider web,
spiderweb,
spider's web, or
cobweb is a device created by a spider out of proteinaceous spider silk extruded from its spinnerets. Spider webs have existed for at least 100 million years, as witnessed in a rare find of Early Cretaceous amber from Sussex, southern England. Insects can get trapped in spider webs, providing nutrition to the spider; however, not all spiders build webs to catch prey, and some do not build webs at all. "
Spider web" is typically used to refer to a web that is apparently still in use, whereas "
cobweb" refers to abandoned webs. However, "cobweb" is used to describe the tangled three-dimensional web of some spiders of the theridiidae family. Whilst this large family is also known as the tangle-web spiders, cobweb spiders and comb-footed spiders, they actually have a huge range of web architectures.