Details - Public Health Image Library(PHIL)

ID#:

10126

Caption:

Under a low magnification of 43X, almost 4X greater than PHIL 10125, this scanning electron microscopic (SEM) image depicted the entangled remains of an unidentified insect, which was believed to be an ant, entrapped in the web of a brown recluse spider. Known as spider silk, the strands of silk are produced by the spider’s spinnerets, which are glands located in the distal tip of its abdomen. Once the prey becomes entangled in the web, the spider will cautiously, though aggressively, approach the prey, subduing it with a neurotoxic bite, which also contains proteolytic, or protein-destroying enzymes, and further enwraps the prey in a web cocoon like the one seen here. In this particular view you’ll note one of the victim’s compound eyes, adjacent to which was the proximal end of one of its two antennae.

High Resolution:

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Content Provider(s):

CDC/ Janice Haney Carr

Creation Date:

2007

Photo Credit:

Janice Haney Carr

Links:

Categories:

CDC Organization