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First published online June 15, 2006
Journal of Experimental Biology 209, 2452-2461 (2006)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2006
doi: 10.1242/jeb.02275
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Silken toolkits: biomechanics of silk fibers spun by the orb web spider Argiope argentata (Fabricius 1775)

Todd A. Blackledge1,* and Cheryl Y. Hayashi2

1 Department of Biology, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325-3908, USA
2 Department of Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA


Figure 1
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  		Fig. 1. Quasistatic mechanical properties of each type of fibrous silk spun by Argiope argentata (mean ± s.e.m.). Standard errors were calculated using individual spiders, rather than total numbers of fibers tested, as the sampling unit. See Table 1 for sample sizes. ac, aciniform; cp, capture spiral; mj, major ampullate; mn, minor ampullate; tb, tubuliform.

 

Figure 2
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  		Fig. 2. Typical stress–strain curves for each of the five fibrous silks spun by Argiope argentata. Five tests are shown for each silk. Note the difference in the magnitude of the x axis for most types of silk (A–D) relative to capture spiral silk (E).

 

Figure 3
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  		Fig. 3. Diameters of single fibers (mean ± s.e.m.) for each of the different types of silks spun by Argiope argentata. Standard errors were calculated using individual spiders, rather than total numbers of fibers tested, as the sampling unit. See Table 1 for sample sizes. ac, aciniform; cp, capture spiral; mj, major ampullate; mn, minor ampullate; tb, tubuliform.

 

Figure 4
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  		Fig. 4. Dynamic mechanical properties of each type of fibrous silk spun by Argiope argentata (mean ± s.e.m.). For these data only, s.e.m. was calculated using the total number of fibers tested as the sampling unit, rather than individual spiders. Properties for capture spiral were measurable only at high strain. See Table 2 for sample sizes. E', storage modulus; tan {delta}, loss tangent; ac, aciniform; cp, capture spiral; mj, major ampullate; mn, minor ampullate; tb, tubuliform.

 

Figure 5
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  		Fig. 5. Exemplar dynamic mechanical curves for each of the five fibrous silks spun by Argiope argentata. Gray denotes the loss tangent (tan {delta}) and black denotes the storage modulus (E'). Loss tangent could not be measure effectively for capture spiral due to the extremely low magnitude of the loss modulus. Note the difference in the scale of the x axis for capture spiral (E) relative to other types of silk (A–D).

 

Figure 6
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  		Fig. 6. Scanning electron microscope image of a fiber of tubuliform silk exhibiting characteristic grooves and nodules on its exterior. Bar, 5 µm.

 




© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2006