Quick Answer
Some hummingbirds do incorporate spider silk into their nests, using the sticky spider webs to help bind the nest materials together. However, they do not rely solely on spider silk and typically weave together a variety of softer plant fibers, feathers, lichens and moss to construct their tiny nests. The use of spider silk allows the nest to be flexible and expand as the baby birds grow.
Do Hummingbirds Use Spider Webs?
Hummingbirds are incredible architects when it comes to building their tiny nests. To construct a nest that is secure enough to support eggs and baby birds, they use a variety of materials that can be woven together into a cohesive and flexible structure. This includes:
– Plant fibers – Hummingbirds collect soft plant down such as thistle, milkweed and dandelion to form the main structure of the nest. The plant fibers provide a cushiony base.
– Spider silk – Some species of hummingbirds have been observed gathering sticky spider webs to incorporate into the nest building. The silk helps bind all the materials together.
– Feathers – Hummingbirds often use soft feathers in the inner lining of the nest to provide insulation.
– Lichen and moss – Lichens and mossels help camouflage the nest and provide a moisture-resistant outer barrier.
The use of spider silk in hummingbird nests was documented as early as the 18th century by French ornithologist Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon. He wrote that the nest “is composed of the finest down collected from vegetables, and of the silky threads produced by spiders”.
More recent research has confirmed that certain species like Anna’s hummingbird and Black-chinned hummingbird do make use of spider silk in their nest construction. The spider webs provide an important structural adhesive that helps keep the nests together and anchored to branches.
However, hummingbirds do not rely solely on spider silk to build their nests. While spider webs contribute helpful sticky binding properties, the majority of the nest is made up of softer plant fibers that form the body. Spider silk is added only sparingly as supplementation.
Why Do Hummingbirds Use Spider Webs?
When building a nest, hummingbirds need materials that they can weave and bind together into a cohesive but flexible home. Researchers believe hummingbirds use spider webs for the following reasons:
– **Adhesion** – The silk provides excellent sticking abilities to firmly adhere nest materials together without gaps or holes. This creates a tightly woven structure.
– **Expansion** – As baby hummingbirds grow, the nest must be able to expand with them. Spider silk adds elasticity so the nest can stretch without falling apart.
– **Durability** – Spider silk is very strong and resistant to tearing. It reinforces the nest and helps prevent damage.
– **Water resistance** – The hydrophobic properties of spider silk may help repel water and moisture from rain or dew. This keeps the inner nest dry.
– **Camouflage** – When woven throughout the outer nest materials, spider webs can help the nest blend in with its surroundings.
Hummingbirds appear to be very selective, gathering only minimal amounts of very sticky spider webs to integrate strategically into key areas of the nest. The spider silk serves as a sort of natural glue or netting.
What Types of Spider Webs Do Hummingbirds Use?
Not all spider webs are created equal when it comes to the types of silks and adhesives they contain. Hummingbirds seem to prefer gathering certain types of spider webs and silk:
– **Cribellate silk** – These spider webs are produced with a specialized comb-like organ called a cribellum. This creates thousands of nano-scale silk fibers that stick together electrostatically, creating an extremely sticky web. These are preferred by hummingbirds.
– **Puffball silk**- Some spiders in the genus Tigrosa create puffball-like glue globs at the centers of their webs. These super sticky globs adhere strongly to the hummingbirds’ feet and bills, allowing easy transport back to the nest site.
– **Funnel web silk** – Web types that utilize a funnel or tube design tend to be easier for hummingbirds to gather, as they can access the stickiest center of the web.
– **Corners and frames** – Hummingbirds target the structural parts of webs, like corners, frames and moorings. These sections contain thicker silk formations needed for structural support.
Certain spider species like funnel web spiders, orb weavers, and black and yellow garden spiders tend to produce the types of silk adhesives favored by hummingbirds.
How Do Hummingbirds Gather the Spider Webs?
Hummingbirds have specialized physical adaptations that allow them to gather sticky spider webs:
– **Cleated feet** – Hummingbird feet have stiff, cleated edges that act as tiny barbs for snagging and clinging to silk strands.
– **Hooked bills** – The small, hooked bills of hummingbirds can latch onto puffballs or stretched silk lines.
– **Frayed feathers** – Ragged edges along the wings and tail snag extra silk pieces as the birds flutter through webs.
– **Sticky saliva** – Hummingbirds may use sticky saliva to help adhere gathered threads to their beaks and feet as they transport the silk.
Here is the basic technique hummingbirds use to gather spider silk:
1. Locate an appropriate web source, often returning to the same web.
2. Perch or hover near web and use cleated feet and hooked bill to snag an end of silk.
3. Pull silk strands off web anchor points using wings and feet.
4. Gather loosened silk by brushing wings, tail and body against web in motion.
5. Press silk to feet, bill and feathers using sticky saliva.
6. Shuttle back and forth ferrying gathered silk pieces to the nest site.
7. Weave the spider silk pieces into the nest structure using their specialized bill as a tool.
It takes remarkable aerial dexterity and precision to harvest sticky spider webs in midair without becoming permanently entangled.
Do Male or Female Hummingbirds Gather Spider Silk?
The females are mainly responsible for gathering the spider silk as well as constructing the entire nest.
In most hummingbird species, the females take on all nest building duties. She will select the site, collect all the materials and carefully weave everything together into a cohesive nest.
The smaller and less colorful male hummingbirds typically do not participate at all in nest construction. Their role is to court potential mates through elaborate visual displays and aerial maneuvers.
However, the male Anna’s Hummingbird has been observed assisting the female in gathering spider silk on occasion. But even in this species, the male’s contribution is minimal compared to the female’s efforts.
What Time of Year Do Hummingbirds Gather Spider Silk?
Spider silk gathering occurs in the spring and early summer months leading up to breeding season.
Here is the general nest building timeline:
– **Winter** – No nest building. Hummingbirds are solitary or in migratory flocks.
– **Early spring** – Females arrive at breeding grounds a few weeks before males. Some scoping of nest sites occurs.
– **Mid to late spring** – Males arrive and courtship begins. Females begin intensive nest construction, gathering silk and other materials.
– **Early to mid summer** – Eggs are laid and incubated in completed nests. Spider silk is no longer needed until the next breeding season.
– **Late summer/Fall** – Young fledge and leave the nest. Hummingbirds migrate or become solitary.
So the key spider web gathering period is in mid to late spring when females are building new nests for the upcoming breeding season. The spider silk is essential for allowing the nests to expand as the baby hummingbirds grow over the summer.
Do Other Birds Use Spider Webs in Their Nests?
In addition to hummingbirds, some other small birds also occasionally incorporate spider silk into their nests:
– **Orioles** – Both Baltimore and orchard orioles may use spider web pieces to attach and hang their woven pendulous nests from branches.
– **Warblers** – Certain warblers gather spider silk to patch and reinforce the outer mud shells of their nests.
– **Vireos** – Red-eyed vireos tend to use spider silk along with caterpillar silk for binding nest materials.
– **Swallows** – The edible-nest swiftlet crafts its nest entirely from solidified saliva but may use silk to affix it to surfaces.
However, hummingbirds appear to be unique in their consistent and specialized use of spider silk as a structural binding agent for their meticulously woven nests. The adhesion properties of the silk serve an important purpose in nest expansion and durability.
Do Hummingbirds Reuse Spider Webs Across Seasons?
There is no evidence that hummingbirds reuse the same spider webs year after year. They appear to gather new spider silk each breeding season.
Here are some reasons why reusing old spider webs likely does not occur:
– Spider webs degrade over time, losing their stickiness. Old webs would lack the needed adhesive properties after exposure to weather.
– Spiders constantly produce new webs as they move locations or catch prey. Old webs are abandoned and replaced with fresh silk.
– Hummingbirds build new nests each breeding season rather than reusing old nests. So new spider silk would be required.
– Different individual hummingbirds likely nest in any given territory from one year to the next, with no way to locate another bird’s old web sources.
– Hummingbirds have specialized physical adaptations allowing easy fresh gathering of new spider silk each year.
Instead of reusing aged silk, hummingbirds seem adept at locating fresh sticky webs spun by spiders each spring. Their unique bills and feet allow them to nimbly harvest the adhesive silk right from the web source as needed.
Do Hummingbirds Eat Spiders?
There is no evidence that hummingbirds intentionally eat spiders as a food source. They appear to only interact with spider webs for the specific purpose of gathering nest material.
A few key reasons hummingbirds avoid eating spiders:
– **Small prey size** – At just 3-4 grams, hummingbirds subsist mainly on nectar. Spiders do not offer enough nutritional value.
– **Difficulty catching** – Hummingbirds lack the larger beaks and grasping talons of insect-eating birds that more easily capture spiders.
– **Not attracted** – Hummingbirds seem indifferent to spiders as a food option compared to their strong attraction toward sweet sugary nectar.
– **Possibility of entanglement** – Attempting to catch web-building spiders risks the hummingbird getting stuck in silk strands.
While harmless to spiders, hummingbirds do opportunistically raid spider webs solely to harvest the silk adhesive for binding their nest materials together into a flexible yet durable structure. Their light bodies and precision flight abilities allow them to selectively gather sticky threads without damaging or interfering with the rest of the web. The spider silk serves an important architectural purpose in nest construction.
Do hummingbird nests ever incorporate other materials from insects or arthropods besides spider silk?
In addition to spider silk, hummingbirds have very occasionally been documented using other insect or arthropod-derived materials to decorate or reinforce their nests:
– **Caterpillar silk** – Some reports indicate hummers may gather strands of silk from tent caterpillars along with spider web silk, possibly for extra binding fibers.
– **Insect cocoons** – In rare instances, small pieces of insect cocoon may be adhered to the exterior nest walls, providing camouflage.
– **Shell pieces** – Tiny flattened chips of beetle shells have been found pressed into the outer nests walls on rare occasions, likely for decoration or armor.
– **Mud dauber nest mud** – In Costa Rica, purple-throated carib hummers were observed stealing bits of mud from wasp nests, likely using the mud to affix nests to branches.
– **Ant nest particles** – A few reports mention tiny particles of ant nest materials incorporated into hummingbird nests but this seems extremely rare.
However, in nearly all cases, spider silk remains by far the most commonly utilized insect or arthropod-sourced material. The usage of caterpillar silk, shell pieces, or nest mud from other insects seems to be occasional opportunistic enhancement rather than a regularly relied upon nest component. Spider silk alone provides the right combination of stickiness, strength and elasticity desired by hummingbirds.
Conclusion
While hummingbirds build their soft, flexible nests primarily from plant down and feathers, many species also regularly incorporate spider silk gathered from webs. The spider silk provides important binding adhesion and expansibility to protect eggs and accommodate growing chicks.
Key facts about hummingbirds and spider web usage include:
– Females do nearly all nest building, including gathering spider silk.
– Cribellate and puffball silk types are preferred for their stickiness.
– Cleated feet and hooked bills allow easy gathering of silk.
– Silk is gathered during spring nesting season.
– Reusing old silk seems unlikely compared to gathering fresh webs.
– Silk is a construction material only, not food.
– Rarely, other insect silks or particles may decorate nests.
The next time you see a hummingbird nest, look closely and you may spot a few strands of spider web cleverly woven throughout for structural reinforcement. The two tiny architects – the hummingbird and the spider – each have a role to play in this remarkable collaboration of nature’s building materials.
