The study involved spiders (species not specified) exposed to various chemicals (e.g., caffeine, marijuana, benzedrine, chloral hydrate) and compared to control spiders spinning normal webs. The exact number of spiders used is not provided in the available metadata.

This is a technical brief (NASA Tech Brief) describing an observational experimental study in which spiders were exposed to chemicals and their web patterns were recorded and analyzed as indicators of toxicity.

No conflicts of interest are declared in the available metadata; as a work of the U.S. government, it is in the public domain.

Key findings indicate that spiders exposed to chemicals spun webs that differed from normal webs. Quantitative measures included numbers of cells, average areas, perimeters, and radii of cells, with a notable decrease in the number of completed sides per cell correlating with higher toxicity. The more toxic the substance, the more deformed and incomplete the web structure appeared. Statistical crystallography techniques were applied to digitized web images to quantify these differences.