Why don't spiders run out of silk | Ask yourself

Though the answer is pretty simple but for some people this is confusing. So, if you are scratching your head just to find out the right answer you are probably in the right place. All your confusion will be gone soon.  

Silk is the reaction of protein that is produced on demand. Spiders catch prey with the help of their silk and then they inject a venom into that insect to paralyze it. The paralyzed insect does not die instantly but slowly so it remains fresh. The venom that spiders inject into the prey actually liquefies it and then they suck the liquid protein part inside the insect and leave the dry hard skeleton of that insect behind. Spiders eat everything that has got protein inside it and this protein actually helps them to reproduce the silk when it is needed.  

Spiders have the glands on the back of their abdomen where the silk is produced. When they catch prey and suck the protein juice in it and absorb it then the proteins go to the glands at the back end of the spiders where the silk is created or recreated.  

Some kinds of spiders take this a step ahead. They eat their own silk to reuse them in future and this process does not harm their body as silk or web is just a protein.  



So now if your question is can it be temporarily unavailable, well that could be unavailable for a while but not for so long and it is hard to tell when. It is possible that spiders can only make silk when it has enough protein available in the glands. So, if they do not get enough food to reproduce silk, they eat silk when their webs get old. So, it depends.  

Silk is a magical thing and needs more research. Silk is stronger than steel and scientists are trying to create it artificially. 

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