Do Opiliones produce silk or webs?
No. Some old literature suggest that Opiliones do produce silk, but this has not been proven. These reports of silk production were based upon finding small strands of what the authors thought were silk in a box which had housed Opiliones. The shed skins of Opiliones are sometimes found hanging from a thread of silk. In these cases it is assumed that this silk was made by spiders and adapted to the use (holding onto while shedding the skin) by the Opiliones. Return to Top Why are some Opiliones found in big aggregations? This is indeed a good question. Nobody knows for sure, but scientists are investigating this behavior. It appears different kinds of Opiliones aggregate for different reasons. Some apparently aggregate to create or maintain a desirable microhabitat (temperature, humidity, darkness, etc.). Other aggregations appear to be for purposes of hibernation or rest. It may be possible that the defensive secretions of a mass of Opiliones would be more effective than those of a si
