Materials Required:
l Spider web
l White paper
l Safety pins
Procedure:
- Find an old spider web with some dead insects left in the threads—you might look in a garage, on a porch, or on some trees or bushes.
- Pull one of the dead insects from the web and place it on a sheet of white paper.
- With a safety pin or other small, pointed instrument, break apart the insect’s hard outer shell. You will see that there is nothing left inside. How did the spider eat the inside of his catch without opening the shell?
This Is What Happens:
When an insect gets caught in a spider’s web, the spider spine extra thread around its victim to hold it in place, but he does not have to do any chewing through the tough shell. The spider punctures the insect with sharp fangs and injects a chemical. This chemical makes the insect’s insides soft and watery, and then the spider sucks up its meal.
