TY - JOUR
T1 - The toughest recorded spider egg case silks are woven into composites with tear-resistant architectures
AU - Alam, Parvez
AU - Otieno, Danish
AU - Nuhamunada, Matin
AU - Anyango, Roselyn
AU - Odoyo, Jared
AU - Odhiyambo, John
AU - Onyango, Kenneth
PY - 2016/12/1
Y1 - 2016/12/1
N2 - In this communication, we report important preliminary evidence for possibly the toughest egg case silk threads recorded to date spun by the hermit spider, Nephilengys cruentata (193 MJm− 3). We further elucidate that the egg case itself is woven with a specialised repeat cross-weave that when subjected to tension, drives perpendicular-to-force threads to pile. This piling of threads constrains damage to small areas and retains the architectural integrity of the surrounding egg case material. We deduce that by having ultra-tough threads coupled to a tear resistant architecture, N. cruentata is able to protect its eggs from predators with a considerable level of effectiveness.
AB - In this communication, we report important preliminary evidence for possibly the toughest egg case silk threads recorded to date spun by the hermit spider, Nephilengys cruentata (193 MJm− 3). We further elucidate that the egg case itself is woven with a specialised repeat cross-weave that when subjected to tension, drives perpendicular-to-force threads to pile. This piling of threads constrains damage to small areas and retains the architectural integrity of the surrounding egg case material. We deduce that by having ultra-tough threads coupled to a tear resistant architecture, N. cruentata is able to protect its eggs from predators with a considerable level of effectiveness.
U2 - 10.1016/j.msec.2016.06.063
DO - 10.1016/j.msec.2016.06.063
M3 - Letter
SN - 0928-4931
VL - 69
SP - 195
EP - 199
JO - Materials Science and Engineering: C
JF - Materials Science and Engineering: C
ER -
