Scientists crack the spiders web code

Decorative white silk crosses are an ingenious tactic used by orb-weaving spiders to protect their webs from damage, a new study from the University of Melbourne has revealed. The team, led by Dr Andre Walter and Professor Mark Elgar from the University of Melbourne's Department of Zoology, found that orb-weaving spiders respond to severe damage to their webs by building bigger silk crosses, but if the damage is mild they don't bother adding extra decoration. Professor Mark Elgar said web damage is costly for spiders as a lot of nutritional resources are required to rebuild a web. 'So they evolved this ingenious way to minimise unwanted damage,' he said. 'It's much like we mark glass windows with tape to prevent people walking into them,? he said. The team collected a group of orb-weaving spiders and left them to build their webs in the laboratory. Some of the completed webs were severely damaged, others lightly damaged and the remainder left alone.