Maitry M Jani, Martín Ramírez, Jonas Wolff

Spiders possess multiple types of silk glands, producing silk materials with contrasting properties, and which are deployed in distinct behavioural contexts, such as locomotion, prey capture and egg casing. Whereas the diversity of silk glands and spigots across different spider families is relatively well described, their biological functions (i.e., with which behaviour each gland type is activated) are poorly known. Here we provide an overview about available methods and approaches to determine the biological function of spider silk glands, and evaluate their advantages and disadvantages based on our experiences and a test study on Pholcus phalangioides (Pholcidae) and Kukulcania hibernalis (Filistatidae).