In science not cartoons ok ..?
There are several glands located at the spider's abdomen, which produce the silken thread. Every gland produces a thread for a special purpose.
There are seven different known glands. Each spider possesses only some of these glands and not all seven together.
The glands known as
- Glandula Aggregata produces the sticky material for the threads.
- Glandula Ampulleceae major and minor are used for the silk of the walking thread.
- Glandula Pyriformes is used for the production of the attaching threads.
- Glandula Aciniformes produces threads for the encapsulation of prey.
- Glandula Tubiliformes produces thread for cocoons.
- Glandula Coronatae is used for the production of the adhesive threads.
Normally a spider has three pairs of spinners, but there are spiders with just one pair or as many as four pairs.
Every spinner has it own function.
There are small tubes in the spinners, which are connected to the glands.
The number of tubes varies between 2 and 50.000.