WEBVTT

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Meet the triangle weaver. Hyptiotes cavatus builds a triangular web. This still photograph introduces the spider; the following diagrams explain its moving trap.

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Load the silk before the strike. The spider repeatedly tightens a separate anchor line with its legs. Muscular work builds elastic energy in the stretched web.

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Release the held line. When prey contacts the web, the spider releases its grip. Stored energy accelerates both spider and web toward the insect.

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Motion brings more silk into contact. The spider's sudden halt makes the web jerk and wrap additional capture threads around prey. Loading, release, and stopping work together.

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A spring is a simplification. Our lab uses one damped spring. A living triangle web has multiple lines and staged releases; its preload is not calibrated here.

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What changes with more preload?. Keep stiffness and energy loss fixed. Increase preload energy, then compare the loaded extension and motion after release.