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According to the scientists in United States, spiders can be identified based on the DNA they leave on their webs. In fact, when the sticky material left on their webs is analyzed, it can also reveal what they had eaten weeks after they caught the prey. This research will help the scientists to monitor endangered species or track the spider pests, experts say in a journal called Plos one.

For the purpose of the study, the researchers looked at black widow spider in a zoo. Experts in the University of Notre Dame in Indiana said that if the technique works, it may have long term practical uses in other areas as well. The lead researcher of the study, Charles Xu, obtained mitochondrial DNA from black widow's web kept in a zoo in Indiana. He revealed that the spiders and their preys were easily identifiable by the DNA procured from the spider web sample. The webs can help in extracting the DNA without the need to capture the spiders, he said. "In the past, identification of spiders has relied on morphology, especially looking at the genitalia of spiders because they're very different between different species of spider," he told BBC News. He added, "But there are a lot of errors associated with these kinds of methods and now with the advent of new genetic technologies we can more accurately identify these species. "The really cool part about our study is that we used non-invasive samples - so these web samples - where we don't even have to directly observe or capture these spiders to get their DNA."

Charles Cong Xu says: "Sticky spider webs are natural DNA samplers, trapping nearby insects and other things blowing in the wind. We see potential for broad environmental monitoring because spiders build webs in so many places," as reported by eScience News.