• Question: spiders are often considerd a pest. how can they help us? + can they improve our standerd of living?

    Asked by mackleve to Andrew, Beth, Bruce, Lindy, Lizzie on 18 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: Beth Mortimer

      Beth Mortimer answered on 18 Jun 2012:

      Spiders are actually incredibly useful without people knowing it. They are present in every type of climate on the planet, except Antartica. They are a vital part of the food chain, eating flies (which I think are so much more annoying that spiders!) and other small insects and they in turn are eaten by birds and other small animals.

      But the biggest potential help for us is to learn about their wonder-material, silk. Spider silk is stronger (for the same weight) than steel. It is also tougher (able to absorb more energy) than the bullet-proof material Kevlar. Spider silk also manages to have these properties with a very thin fibre (0.006mm diameter) and are made in the spider’s body in a very energy efficient way.

      If we can learn from the spider about how to make energy efficient, lightweight super-materials, they could lead to a number of light-weight, environmentally friendly materials which could be used for ropes, parachutes, sports padding…

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