Figure 7A-C in Silks and silk-producing organs of Neotropical tarantula Avicularia metallica (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Theraphosidae)

Figure 7A-C. SEM micrographs of attachment field silk: A – Cut-out section of plastic container, covered with silk of attachment fields – AFS. Places with the highest concentration of nanofibrils appear in the image as whitish spots without clear borders. This silk constitutes an adhesive foundation layer onto which the spider attaches connecting fibers, B – attachment of a connecting fiber (CF) to the substratum covered with adhesive silk. Before joining with the silk of attachment fields, the thick connecting fibers ramify into several thinner fibers with fewer nanofibrils. As the fibers progressively ramify before they are anchored in the AFS-covered substratum, the bundles become gradually less compact until separate nanofibrils remain. C – enlarged view of framed section in B.