Keeping balance is crucial for the delicate arachnids, which would likely die in a fall. So tarantulas often use silk much like Spider-Man does when wall-crawling—to stick to surfaces and stay firmly attached, even when the ground is shaky, the research confirmed.

Tarantulas don't spin typical spider webs, but often use their silk to line or protect their burrows.

(See "Spider-Man vs. True Spider Superpowers.")

To resolve that question, the University of Newcastle's Claire Rind and undergraduate student Luke Birkett put tarantulas into a clean, dry fish tank lined with microscope slides. While filming with a video camera, the team tipped the tank on its side so that the spiders either stayed