What Are Cobwebs? Where Do They Come From?

You clean them out of every corner, yet cobwebs always seem to reappear within days. But where do they actually come from? Are they really just dust clumping together, or is something else going on? In this video, we explain the real origin of cobwebs, why they are actually abandoned spiderwebs, which spider families are responsible for creating them, and why spider silk is so durable that cobwebs can persist for months or even years after the spider has moved on. CHAPTERS: 0:00 – What Are Cobwebs? 0:19 – Cobwebs Are Abandoned Spiderwebs 0:40 – Cobweb Spiders (Theridiidae Family) 0:58 – How Cobweb Spiders Build Tangled Webs 1:20 – Other Indoor Spider Families 1:50 – Those Mysterious Hanging Strands 2:10 – Ampullate Silk and Spider Safety Lines 2:34 – Why Cobwebs Are So Persistent 3:00 – How Spider Silk Eventually Breaks Down WATCH NEXT: ▶ Arachnophobia: Why Are People Scared of Spiders? –    • Arachnophobia: Why Are People Scared of Sp...   ▶ Clock Spider: What Is The Legend Surrounding This Giant Spider Species? –    • Clock Spider: What Is The The Legend Surro...   KEY TOPICS COVERED: • How cobwebs form from abandoned spiderwebs • The Theridiidae family of cobweb spiders and their 3,000+ species • Why cobweb spiders build tangled, disorganized webs on purpose • Daddy longlegs, funnel web spiders, and orb-weaver spiders • Ampullate silk used by spiders as safety lines for travel • Why spider silk is so durable and resistant to degradation • How spiders recycle their own silk through enzymatic action #Cobwebs #Spiders #SpiderSilk #SpiderWeb #ScienceABC References: http://www.uky.edu/Ag/CritterFiles/ca... http://web.archive.org/web/2020081115... https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/... http://www.tolweb.org/Pholcidae/2719 http://web.pdx.edu/~smasta/MastaSpide... http://web.archive.org/web/2021042806... Original Article Link: https://www.scienceabc.com/eyeopeners... If you wish to buy/license this video, please write to us at [email protected]. Voice Over Artist: John Staughton ( https://www.fiverr.com/jswildwood ) SUBSCRIBE to get more such science videos!    / @scienceabcii   Follow us on Twitter!   / abc_science   Follow us on Facebook!   / sciabc   Follow our Website! https://www.scienceabc.com SUBSCRIBE for more science explainers!    / @scienceabc