Spiders and the webs they weave...

• Am told a single thread of spider silk long enough to stretch all the way around the world would weigh only about 15 ounces.
• A spider has eight eyes and can't see worth a hoot.
• Israel has poisonous white widow spiders.
• Most spiders live less than a year. Tarantulas, on the other hand, live 10 or even 20 years.
• Parts of a spider's web reflect ultraviolet light. So spiders weave designs visible to insects, which are drawn to the web. The bug in the web didn't necessarily get there by accident. It was probably lured by the ultraviolet decorations.
• I hear that the British are trying to make bullet-proof vests out of spiderwebs. Should we tell them that spider silk shrinks by half when it's wet?
• The spider stays pretty close to the center of the web on rainy days.
• In a spider's web, the circling threads are sticky, the spoke threads are dry. The spider always walks on the spokes, so it doesn't get hung up in the web.