Egg Sac Silk
Spider silks exhibit very strong mechanical characteristics.
Each individual spider silk has its own unique chemical
and physical properties, and molecular structure (Lepore et al.
2012). Orbwebs, for
example like the ones produced by
Meta menardi include multiple types of silk in one web (Lepore et
al. 2012). Orbweb
spiders have spinnerets, which are three paired appendage-like
organs on their abdomen allowing them to produce many different
types of silk thread that can be used together to make their web
(Lepore et al. 2012).
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Meta menardi produce
large, white egg sacs and they suspend them from the walls or
ceilings of the environment they live in such as a cave (Lepore et
al. 2012). The egg sacs
range is size and have an average diameter of 2-3 cm (Fritzén
and Koponen 2011). They
are considered to have the most stretchable egg sac silk of any
orb-weaving spider allowing for maximum protection (Lepore et al.
2012). They produce very
densely packed fibers that randomly intertwine to form the strong
structure that holds the egg sac (Lepore et al. 2012).
The strain that egg sac fibers could withstand was very high,
and some were elongated more than 200% their original length (Lepore
et al. 2012). The egg
sac silk was proved stronger, up to 750% stronger in terms of
maximum strain than other tested species such as the dragline and
minor ampullate silk (Lepore et al. 2012).