Can Male Spiders Make Webs? Can Male Spiders Lay Eggs? 20 Spider Facts

Can male spiders lay eggs and can male spiders make webs? How do they reproduce?

Many people have questions about spiders and want to know as much as possible about them.

How strong are their webs? Spiders are one of our most fascinating creatures on many fronts, and it is no surprise people have so many questions about them.

This guide explains 20 interesting spider facts, and answers the question, can male spiders make webs?

Spider Fact #1. Can Male Spiders Make Webs? (Male Vs Female Spider)

“Can male spiders make webs” is an interesting inquiry, and male spiders do make webs, but they don’t do it as often. So most of the time, when you see a spider sitting pretty in its creation, you are most likely looking at a female.

(Female Spider Image: 15414483⁹)

Female spiders are more territorial, making them more likely to set up a ‘home,’ while male spiders travel a lot looking for mates. Male webs tend to be less impressive than those of females because of their smaller size.

Spider Fact #2. Do Male Spiders Lay Eggs?

No male spiders do not lay eggs. While the animal world has some hermaphroditic species–those capable of producing both eggs and sperm–spiders are not one of them.

So only the female half can perform this all-important task.

Spider Fact #3. Can Male Spiders Make Webs? Why Do Spiders Make Webs?

Spiders primarily make webs to catch prey. Anyone who has walked through a spider web before knows how sticky they can be, and this is what makes it such an effective tool to catch their daily meals.

How do spiders make webs? Once immobilized, the spider injects its venom to either immobilize or kill its prey and then chows down with ease. But not all spiders make webs to catch their food.

Some simply chase it down or make a sticky net to throw on them when the time is right.

Spider Fact #4. What Are Spider Webs Made Of?

Spider webs are made from the protein silk.¹ Living things of all kinds produce proteins with each having specific jobs to do.

The proteins that form hair and nails for example are the kind meant to make something bigger. Spiders produce silk from their glands and pull it out of their bodies through the legs.

This process is referred to as ‘spinning.’

Spider Fact #5. How Strong Is a Spider Web?

While you probably can’t tell by looking at them, spider silk by weight is tougher and stronger than steel. It is almost as strong as Kevlar, the toughest man-made polymer and the most common material used for bulletproof vests.

This is all pretty impressive considering a strand of spider silk is finer than human hair.

Spider Fact #6. What Does a Black Widow Web (Black Widow Spider Web) Look Like?

Black widows are among the most feared spiders, which is funny because they are actually one of the most ‘shy’ and do their best to steer clear of humans.² Black widow spider web stand out for their particularly ‘messy’ looking appearance, but they are actually very carefully constructed.

The top level has very strong threads that would prevent flying prey from easily breaking free. The middle level has a messy tangle of threads and this is where the black widow typically lays in wait.

The bottom third of the web has a number of vertical traps to capture crawling prey.

Spider Fact #7. Can Male Spiders Make Webs? Do Tarantulas Make Webs?

Tarantulas do not make webs to catch their prey. They typically spin silk for the purposes of adhering to vertical surfaces and protecting themselves.

(Image: Oleg Didenko⁸)

It will use its silk to make a shelter designed to keep other insects out.

Spider Fact #8. Are There Different Types of Spider Silk?

While you couldn’t tell by looking at it, a spider’s web is actually made of a number of different kinds of silk. It can produce up to seven kinds from seven different glands.³

Not all spiders will have all seven types of glands. But all females will have at least four–the silk needed to make egg sacs– and all males will have at least three.

The exact composition of the silk proteins depends on the purpose it serves.

The seven types of glands and their purpose include:

• The cylindriform gland produces the silk used in creating the egg sacs.
• The aciniform gland produces the silk for capturing and binding up prey.
• The ampullate gland produces the silk used to connect the strands of the web and protect the spider from falling. This silk is the strongest of all because of its role in supporting the spider’s weight
• The pyriform gland produces the attaching threads and discs that anchor a silk thread to another thread or surface.
• Flagelliform gland produces the core fibers of the sticky silk that keeps prey from escaping the web.
• The aggregate gland produces the droplets that form the surface part of sticky silk and the adhesives deposited along the threads.

Spider Fact #9. How Do Spiders Mate? Spider Mating Courtship and Spider Sex

The ways male spiders find female spiders to mate with vary among species.⁴ The mating process can be challenging for them.

They are constantly on the go looking for females and must compete with many others in the area. And if it weren’t difficult enough, many female spiders will eat the male after the deed is done.

Some spiders appear to follow silk threads, being able to identify those made by females of their species who are currently ‘receptive’ to their advances. Some spiders use their visual senses to identify appropriate partners.

While some males will approach a female spider without much fanfare, others engage in more elaborate courtship rituals. This practice likely evolved to avoid being mistaken as prey and killed immediately since male spiders are typically much smaller.

A spider may display a certain part of the body, pluck the strands of the web, tap nearby objects, or present gifts. If the female displays receptiveness to the male’s advances by positioning herself for sex, game on.

Some signs she may not be interested, include shaking the web or simply crawling away. Some male spiders who fear they will miss their opportunity to mate may forge ahead anyway, knowing full well they risk their life in doing so.

Spider Fact #10. How Do Spiders Reproduce?

The reproduction process of spiders is quite interesting and can be quite dangerous for the male. The male spider spins a small web into which he deposits his sperm.

He then cautiously approaches the female and places the web of sperm into an opening below her abdomen. She fertilizes the eggs and lays them into a sac.

A female spider can store the sperm of several males. Once mating has finished, the female spider can sometimes eat the smaller male.

Spider Fact #11. How Do Pregnant Spiders Birth Their Babies?

Spiders do not give birth, they lay eggs. The eggs mature in a sac spun out of the silk glands near the bottom of her abdomen.

Like other silk made in the spider’s body, it starts off in liquid form and solidifies when it hits the air. The female spider threads the silk into a sac and one sac can contain hundreds of eggs.

Once she lays the eggs, it takes about two to three weeks for them to hatch.

Spider Fact #12. What Do Spider Eggs Look Like?

Spider egg sacs are typically shades of white or cream, and either oblong or round in shape. Some egg sacs are smooth while others have bumps and spikes.

(Image: Mike Lewinski⁷)

How big the sac is will depend on the size of the species of spider as well as whether the female has made one sac to hold all the eggs or several smaller ones. Some spiders make sacs that hold up to 2,000!

Spider Fact #13. Spiders Are Everywhere

Spiders call lots of places home and it is believed at any given time and location, you are never more than 10 feet away from one of them!

Spider Fact #14. There Are Lots of Spiders!

Spiders can thrive in a wide array of habitats from the rainforest to the desert; some can even live underwater. There are about 50,000 known species of spiders and scientists believe there are a lot more to be discovered.

Spider Fact #15. Most Spiders Are Venomous But Don’t Worry

This sounds like a scary fact but it actually isn’t. Of the tens of thousands of species, only 25 have venom dangerous to humans.

That is basically a minuscule amount–1/20th of 1%. According to the Cleveland Clinic, fewer than 3 people die each year of bites in the US.⁵

Spider Fact #16. Spiders Can’t Chew

Considering almost all species of spider are carnivorous, it is surprising to learn they can’t chew in the traditional sense. Unlike mammals and most species of insects, they do not have mandibles that aid in chewing and biting.

They have external structures called chelicerae that function like a jaw. They use them to hold the prey in place while they inject it with venom, and proceed to spit enzymes into, or on, the prey to liquify it.

They then suck in the juices.

Spider Fact #17. Spiders Have Blue Blood

In humans, the oxygen in our blood bonds to iron, giving it a red color. In spiders, the oxygen binds to copper, making it blue.

Spider Fact #18. Spiders Are Near Sighted

With so many eyes, you wouldn’t think they would have any vision problems, but spiders are actually nearsighted. This really doesn’t pose a problem for them though.

Most have their prey come right to them courtesy of their webs. They protect themselves from predators by setting up silk tripwires, which alert them to their presence well in advance of them getting close.

Spider Fact #19. That ‘Daddy Long Legs’ May Not Be a Spider

Many insects that we call ‘daddy-long legs’ are not actually spiders, such as crane flies and harvestmen. Only cellar spiders are actual spiders.

Harvestmen are in the arachnid family but do not have venom or silk glands. Crane flies are agricultural pests who can fly and have very long legs.

Spider Fact #20. Jumping Spiders With Jumping Spider Web Can Really Jump!

A jumping spider can jump up to 50 times its length! These very agile creatures appear to have an internal hydraulic system.⁶ They can alter the pressure of fluids in their legs which produces a springing motion that propels them forward.

Many people are quite scared of spiders but maybe understanding a bit more about them will increase appreciation and reduce that fear.

Spiders are truly fascinating creatures and hopefully, this article helped you learn a bit more about them, whether you were wondering can male spiders make webs or can male spiders lay eggs.