Spiders hoist big prey with silk ‘pulleys’ — and now scientists know how – Livescience.com

Tangle-web spiders
are eight-legged engineers, crafting silk pulleys to snag oversized prey like lizards or even small mammals walking on the ground below. 
Until now, scientists didn’t know exactly how the arachnids were able to capture such hefty victims. For the first time, researchers analyzed the spiders’ building techniques and silk construction for trapping and lifting heavy animals. 
Turns out, the spiders actively “tuned” their silk mechanisms once the prey was caught, attaching pre-stretched…

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