Threads of Wonder: Discovering God’s Handiwork in the Spider
By Tom DeRosa, Executive Director of CSI.
- Why do spiders exist?
The little, tiny creatures that entomologists study and master are filled with so many surprises that make us ponder. They possess amazing features that can’t be matched. These include their ability to defy gravity with their wings, their rapid population growth, and their complete body transformations from larva to pupa and then to adult. Insects make up over 75 to 80% of all species in the animal kingdom. It’s estimated that right now, 10 quintillion insects—1 followed by 18 zeros—are alive and occupying every land niche where life exists on Earth. They reproduce at such levels that they interfere with our lives and can overwhelm other biological communities. This requires an implementation of a population growth control plan that is observed in God’s creation. There are natural food chains that include insects as prey for other insects, reptiles, and arachnids, such as spiders.
The Creator has a good sense of humor. Spiders have remarkable features that make them excellent predators of insects, yet many humans are actually afraid of them. A notable negative trait is that when these eight-legged creatures appear, they often evoke fear in people. In fact, there is a disease called Arachnophobia, named for those who have an intense and irrational fear, which can lead to symptoms like anxiety and panic attacks. Humans don’t need to fear spiders, as our Creator designed them to control insects that can be a nuisance and spread diseases.
Spiders are exceptionally well-equipped to eradicate as many insects as possible. There are 46,000 species of spiders, characterized by their prominent eight legs, capable of building endless, sticky webs to trap prey and immobilize them with venom produced by their distinctive fangs. Their venom varies depending on the type of spider, but most initially immobilize their prey, leading to the insect’s death within seconds. In addition to venom, their fangs secrete enzymes that help break down tissue to aid digestion. That might seem scary only if you were an insect. The venom produced by spiders is generally small; in most cases, it is not lethal to humans. They effectively keep insect populations in check, using their sticky webs to catch a wide range of insects, including those that fly. With their specialized venom, they can inject prey to make it edible for another day.
- Facts on Spiders
Eight legs might be too many, but what about eight eyes? Most insects possess two compound eyes, composed of many lenses arranged in a mosaic spherical pattern. It is no wonder it’s hard to capture a fly because it can see in every direction. In comparison, spiders have simple eyes, with many having four pairs, while others have three, two, or even none. Their eyes are classified as simple, like humans, with one lens focused on the retina, which receives signals sent to the brain. A human retina has many more photoreceptors, which gives a much sharper image, but a spider, with its numerous eyes neatly arranged on its head, can pick up motion and recognize images all around it. Spider eyes work best in low light to identify motion. They are hard to catch because they are fast sprinters. Those pet owners who have tarantulas, the bigger version of hairy spiders, can tell you all kinds of stories once they get loose.
Why does a spider have so many legs? Insects have three pairs of legs, but a spider needs an extra pair for balance and control when walking on their web, moving vertically along the wall, and even walking upside down on the ceiling. Their legs are long and slender, with six joints each. Therefore, spiders have 48 bendable knees, providing a broad base and extra stability, which makes them appear much larger than their actual body size. Their legs are flexible and strong, allowing the front legs to hold onto the web while the rear legs assist in weaving and assembling it simultaneously, which is completed quickly. Spider’s legs are moved hydraulically by blood pressure rather than by muscles only. Their long, thin legs are covered with tiny hairs sensitive to vibrations and smells, similar to an insect’s two antennae, and are prominent on their heads. A spider has three additional pairs of legs, increasing its sensitivity threefold. This is why spiders are extremely quick to respond to motion in their webs.
A spider’s body is usually small compared to the space the legs occupy. It has a distinguishing feature composed of two parts: the cephalothorax, which is the head fused to the chest or thoracic cavity, and the abdomen. Their eight legs are connected to the cephalothorax, evenly spaced, with the abdomen protruding out specifically for producing and laying down silk in place during the construction of its web.
- The Natural Wonder: Building a Silk Web
Many people have accidentally become entangled in a spider’s web and felt the web’s sticky silk. It is not a pleasant experience to try to remove the silk strands from your hair, skin, and clothes. This inconvenience can make you appreciate the biological marvel of a spider that possesses a silk factory capable of producing an endless supply of several different types of silk. For instance, a special type of silk is used to create the draglines that form the outer framework of the web. There is also sticky silk, made with droplets of strong adhesive to trap prey. When their eggs need protection, spiders produce silk for that purpose, as well as another type used to wrap their prey. Additionally, a kind of silk is used to make the center pad of the orb web, where the spider waits to catch its prey.
There is another kind of silk that is also incredible, produced by spiders to aid in flying. Some spiders produce silk threads for ballooning, which catch the wind, allowing the spider to climb up to a thousand feet in the air, travel miles, and settle in a new location. Over the past decade on the East Coast, observers have seen Jaro spiders migrating from Georgia as far north as Maryland, and as far west as Oklahoma, using this ballooning method. These invasive species, native to East Asia, are larger than most spiders and are found in America, making them easily noticeable due to their distinctive dark blue and bright yellow markings.
The spider’s silk factory is a wonder in itself, located at the back of their abdomen. Each kind of silk produced by a spider is made from a special, complex liquid protein manufactured in the designated gland, which is composed of 6 to 8 pairs of glands, that hardens once it reaches the air. The liquid protein flows into a spinning duct, where it aligns the proteins, removing water to form a solid. This solid then moves it into the spinnerets, which function as specialized nozzles that produce the exact amount and correct composition of silk required for web building or any other function. Most spiders have three pairs of spinnerets. This amazing function is too complex for humans to reproduce. This is also demonstrated in the silk produced, which has a strength five times that of steel and also exhibits the flexibility of stretching five times its original size. Who would think that such a creature that causes so much disdain would demonstrate such brilliance and eloquence in its design?
We can marvel at the spider’s production of silk, but it does not end here. The orb web is a masterpiece in action, constructed with various types of silk, as mentioned above, in a remarkably short period. It takes an average of one hour to make several feet of web that can be found almost anywhere. They acrobatically move through space, letting the wind carry the silk and bind it to another object, creating a straight line for them to walk on, which becomes a tightrope. They proceed to throw down another silk line to the ground, making three spokes, which they reinforce to begin their construction of the orb web. It is a marvel to observe, once completed, how tightly and efficiently it captures its prey.
How do we explain the spider’s complexity as a natural insecticide? Despite its looks and its horrible reputation, we can see God’s glory. Where did it get the ability to make silk and secrete venom? What is the origin of its fangs, eight legs, its ability to sense, its eyes, and the ability to make a web? Evolutionists often explain their theories through inference and storytelling, with very little compelling fossil evidence. We know that they have a purpose and a place, as evidenced by their exceptional design, which has its origins only from our Creator and Savior.
28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him.
1 Corinthians 1:28-29
