JFDee
Senior Member.
A new article on a 'Carnicom Institute' site tries to make the case that samples sent to CC from all over the world are not threads made by ballooning spiders. However, on first glance the only indication for this is that they look a bit different when compared to self-collected spider webs under a microscope. No chemical analysis provided so far.
Screenshot from the article:
Quote from the article:
The occasion for that article seems to have been a recent ballooning event reported by Terry Lawton from Wexford. See post #15 for details about this video.
Discussion:
It is not very obvious from the images on the site that there is an optical difference between the 'normal' spider webs and the 'filament' sample. However, even if it were - there are significant differences between threads in a normal spider web and the threads used for 'ballooning'
Ballooning threads consist only of a certain type of silk, produced by the so called ampullate glands (the majority of spiders has several different types of silk glands). The ampullate silk is also used as a 'life line' (constantly attached during movement) and for 'bridging' (connecting wide gaps with wind support). In webs, it appears only in the 'framework'. One important property is that it is less sticky than silk from other glands.
Consequently, it is to be expected that the micro-optical properties of threads from a collected web and 'balloon' threads are different - even if they came from the same species of spider.
In this case however, neither of the species producing the samples is known in the first place, so the comparison does not make much scientific sense at all.
Reference:
Spider Physiology and Behaviour, Jérôme Casas (ed.), Academic Press, 2011. Excerpt:
The specific chapter of the book is available (but probably unintentional, as it's not free):
http://ezlab.zrc-sazu.si/uploads/2011/10/Blackledgeal2011_Review-OrbWebs.pdf
[appended with information from the following posts]
See also this thread: Debunked: Chemwebs / Mysterious Fibers fall from sky (ballooning spiders)
Screenshot from the article:
Quote from the article:
https://carnicominstitute.org/wp/global-validation/The samples examined by this researcher are NOT spider webs. All direct examinations demonstrate that they are of an unusual or artificial origin and of a complex chemical and biological nature. No spiders accompany the samples that have been received. Ironically enough, the filaments do indeed share some physical and chemical characteristics with actual spider webs, but this mimicry will hold only at a superficial level. Mainstream science reports recently announce to us that the creation of completely artificial spider webs is now commercially in place; realistically, we should not ignore the covert world of material science development along that path to public disclosure. The internal composition of the filaments differs dramatically from spider webs, and it is here that the truth will be found.
The occasion for that article seems to have been a recent ballooning event reported by Terry Lawton from Wexford. See post #15 for details about this video.
Discussion:
It is not very obvious from the images on the site that there is an optical difference between the 'normal' spider webs and the 'filament' sample. However, even if it were - there are significant differences between threads in a normal spider web and the threads used for 'ballooning'
Ballooning threads consist only of a certain type of silk, produced by the so called ampullate glands (the majority of spiders has several different types of silk glands). The ampullate silk is also used as a 'life line' (constantly attached during movement) and for 'bridging' (connecting wide gaps with wind support). In webs, it appears only in the 'framework'. One important property is that it is less sticky than silk from other glands.
Consequently, it is to be expected that the micro-optical properties of threads from a collected web and 'balloon' threads are different - even if they came from the same species of spider.
In this case however, neither of the species producing the samples is known in the first place, so the comparison does not make much scientific sense at all.
Reference:
Spider Physiology and Behaviour, Jérôme Casas (ed.), Academic Press, 2011. Excerpt:
Pg. 190, retrieved from Google BooksMajor ampullate, or 'dragline', silk is the best known type of spider silk and is produced by both sexes and at all life stages. Major ampullate silk is used as a lifeline by most spiders moving through the environment (Osaki, 1996) and forms the backbones of most webs (Blackledge et al., 2009c; Coddington, 1989; Fig. 9). It is also used for dispersal by ballooning (Bell et al., 2005; Suter, 1991).
The specific chapter of the book is available (but probably unintentional, as it's not free):
http://ezlab.zrc-sazu.si/uploads/2011/10/Blackledgeal2011_Review-OrbWebs.pdf
[appended with information from the following posts]
See also this thread: Debunked: Chemwebs / Mysterious Fibers fall from sky (ballooning spiders)
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