Arachnids and Silk Production Arachnids and Silk Production Silk is produced by many arachnids and has multiple uses, especially for the spiders. Spiders spin silken chambers to cover eggs and for protective retreats.
Silk is used for drag lines, which are lines of silk that are anchored to a surface.
If a spider is disturbed, it will drop on its drag line and then return when danger is gone. With the aid of this silk, young spiders become airborne and are carried by the wind. Probably the most important use of silk for many spiders is for capturing prey. I'll bet you thought of this use first. Patterns of webs are characteristic of a particular species of spider.