Editing Orb-weaver spider (section)

==Description==
[[File:Argiope sp.jpg|thumb|''Argiope'' sp. sitting on the [[Web decorations|stabilimentum]] at the center of the web]]
[[File:Orb weaver spiderlings.jpg|thumb|Spiderlings in the web near where they hatched]]
[[File:Eriophora sp 2.jpg|thumb|Close-up of the [[cephalothorax]] on ''[[Eriophora]]'' sp. (possibly ''[[Eriophora heroine|E. heroine]]'' or ''[[Eriophora pustuosa|E. pustuosa]]'')]]
[[File:SpinyOrbWeaver.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Gasteracantha cancriformis]]'']]
[[File:Araneidae web.jpg|thumb|right|Araneidae web]]
[[File:Orb-Weaver Spider.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Araneidae]]'' waiting on its web for prey]]

Generally, orb-weaving spiders are three-clawed builders of flat [[Spider web|webs]] with sticky spiral capture [[Spider silk|silk]]. The building of a web is an engineering feat, begun when the spider floats a line on the wind to another surface. The spider secures the line and then drops another line from the center, making a "Y". The rest of the scaffolding follows with many radii of nonsticky silk being constructed before a final spiral of sticky capture silk.

The third claw is used to walk on the nonsticky part of the web. Characteristically, the prey [[insect]] that blunders into the sticky lines is stunned by a quick bite, and then wrapped in silk. If the prey is a [[venom (poison)|venomous]] insect, such as a wasp, wrapping may precede biting and/or stinging. Much of the orb-spinning spiders' success in capturing insects depends on the web not being visible to the prey, with the stickiness of the web increasing the visibility, thus decreasing the chances of capturing prey. This leads to a trade-off between the visibility of the web and the web's prey-retention ability.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Craig|first=C. L.|date=1988|title=Insect Perception of Spider Orb Webs in Three Light Habitats|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2389398|journal=Functional Ecology|volume=2|issue=3|pages=277–282|doi=10.2307/2389398|jstor=2389398|bibcode=1988FuEco...2..277C |issn=0269-8463|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Many orb-weavers build a new web each day. Most orb-weavers tend to be active during the evening hours; they hide for most of the day. Generally, towards evening, the spider consumes the old web, rests for about an hour, then spins a new web in the same general location. Thus, the webs of orb-weavers are generally free of the accumulation of [[detritus]] common to other species, such as [[Latrodectus|black widow]] spiders.

Some orb-weavers do not build webs at all. Members of the genera ''[[Mastophora (spider)|Mastophora]]'' in the Americas, ''[[Cladomelea]]'' in Africa, and ''[[Ordgarius]]'' in [[Australia]] produce sticky globules, which contain a [[pheromone]] analog. The globule is hung from a silken thread dangled by the spider from its front legs. The pheromone analog attracts male moths of only a few species. These get stuck on the globule and are reeled in to be eaten. Both genera of [[bolas spider]]s are highly camouflaged and difficult to locate.

In the ''Araneus diadematus'', variables such as wind, web support, temperatures, humidity, and silk supply all proved to be variables in web construction. When studied against the tests of nature, the spiders were able to decide what shape to make their web, how many capture spirals, or the width of their web.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Vollrath |first1=Fritz |last2=Downes |first2=Mike |last3=Krackow |first3=Sven |date=1997-10-01 |title=Design Variability in Web Geometry of an Orb-Weaving Spider |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031938497001868 |journal=Physiology & Behavior |language=en |volume=62 |issue=4 |pages=735–743 |doi=10.1016/S0031-9384(97)00186-8 |pmid=9284492 |s2cid=38948237 |issn=0031-9384|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Though it could be expected for these spiders to just know these things, it is not well researched yet as to just how the arachnid knows how to change their web design based on their surroundings. Some scientists suggest that it could be through the spider's spatial learning on their environmental surroundings and the knowing of what will or will not work compared to natural behavioristic rules.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Exploration behaviour and behavioural flexibility in orb-web spiders: A review |url=https://academic.oup.com/cz/article/61/2/313/1792359?login=false |access-date=2022-10-23 |website=academic.oup.com}}</ref>

The spiny orb-weaving spiders in the genera ''[[Gasteracantha]]'' and ''[[Micrathena]]'' look like plant seeds or thorns hanging in their orb-webs. Some species of ''Gasteracantha'' have very long, horn-like spines protruding from their abdomens.

One feature of the webs of some orb-weavers is the [[web decorations|stabilimentum]], a crisscross band of silk through the center of the web. It is found in several genera, but ''[[Argiope (spider)|Argiope]]'' &ndash; the yellow and banded garden spiders of North America &ndash; is a prime example. As orb-weavers age, they tend to have less production of their silk; many adult orb-weavers can then depend on their coloration to attract more of their prey.<ref name="galvez">{{cite journal | last1=Gálvez | first1=Dumas | last2=Añino | first2=Yostin | last3=De la O | first3=Jorge M. | title=Age variation in the body coloration of the orb-weaver spider Alpaida tuonabo and its implications on foraging | journal=Scientific Reports | volume=8 | issue=1 | pages=3599 | date=26 February 2018 | issn=2045-2322 | doi=10.1038/s41598-018-21971-0 | pmid=29483535 | pmc=5827658 | bibcode=2018NatSR...8.3599G }}</ref> The band may be a lure for prey, a marker to warn birds away from the web, and a [[camouflage]] for the spider when it sits in the web. The stabilimentum may decrease the visibility of the silk to insects, thus making it harder for prey to avoid the web.<ref name=BlacWenz00/> The orb-web consists of a frame and supporting radii overlaid with a sticky capture spiral, and the silks used by orb-weaver spiders have exceptional mechanical properties to withstand the impact of flying prey.<ref name=GarbDemaVoHaya06/> The orb-weaving spider ''[[Zygiella x-notata]]'' produces a unique orb-web with a characteristic missing sector, similar to other species of the ''Zygiella'' genus in the Araneidae family.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Venner|first1=Samuel|last2=Pasquet|first2=Alain|last3=Leborgne|first3=Raymond|title=Web-building behaviour in the orb-weaving spider Zygiella x-notata: influence of experience|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/anbe.1999.1327|journal=Animal Behaviour|year=2000|volume=59|issue=3|pages=603–611|doi=10.1006/anbe.1999.1327|pmid=10715183|s2cid=41339367|issn=0003-3472|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

During the [[Cretaceous]], a radiation of [[flowering plant]]s and their insect pollinators occurred. Fossil evidence shows that the orb web was in existence at this time, which permitted a concurrent radiation of the spider predators along with their insect prey.<ref name=Smithsonian/><ref name=PennOrtu06/> The capacity of orb–webs to absorb the impact of flying prey led orbicularian spiders to become the dominant predators of aerial insects in many ecosystems.<ref name=Blac09/> Insects and spiders have comparable rates of diversification, suggesting they co-radiated, and the peak of this radiation occurred 100 Mya, before the origin of [[angiosperm]]s.<ref name=VollSeld07/> Vollrath and Selden (2007) make the bold proposition that insect evolution was driven less by flowering plants than by spider predation – particularly through orb webs – as a major selective force.<ref name=VollSeld07/> On the other hand some analyses have yielded estimates as high as 265 Mya, with a large number (including Dimitrov et al 2016) intermediate between the two.<ref name="Dimitrov-Hormiga-2020" />

Most arachnid webs are vertical and the spiders usually hang with their heads downward. A few webs, such as those of orb-weavers in the genus ''[[Metepeira]]'', have the orb hidden within a tangled space of web. Some ''Metepiera'' species are semisocial and live in communal webs. In Mexico, such communal webs have been cut out of trees or bushes and used for living [[fly paper]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2007}} In 2009, workers at a [[Baltimore]] wastewater treatment plant called for help to deal with over 100 million orb-weaver spiders, living in a community that managed to spin a phenomenal web that covered some 4 acres of a building, with spider densities in some areas reaching 35,176 spiders per cubic meter.<ref name=Alford/>