The Web Structure and Morphology of the Funnel Web Spider of Agelena orientalis (Araneae: Agelenidae: Ageleninae)

Abstract

The web-spinning activity feature of spiders has affected human beings since ancient times. But not all spiders spin webs. Spiders owe their web-spinning abilities to their possession of spinning apparatus. The spinning apparatus consists of silk glands producing silk secretion and spinnerets attached to these glands. The spinnerets and spigots are used for extracting the silk and processing it by turning it into silk fibers. Although spider webs attract a lot of attention, there are not many studies on spinning apparatus. In this study, the web structure of the funnel web spider Agelena orientalis (C.L. Koch, 1837), which has a very remarkable network structure, and the structural organization of the web-spinning apparatus were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In our study, the web structure, arrangement of spinnerets and spigots of A. orientalis were shown and the obtained data were discussed in the light of the literature.