Spiders are effectively blind with respect to the lines in their own webs. Species in four orb-weaving families solved the problem of finding lines by tapping with their anterior legs, like a blind man with his cane, and then “following” these anterior legs with more posterior legs, which grasp lines that the anterior legs are already holding. Following behavior occurs during several stages of orb construction, and probably economizes on searching time and effort. The movements of following legs are finely adjusted to the morphological details of the grasping structures on their tarsi (the middle claw and its associated serrate accessory setae): the small searching movements made by following legs have consistent orientations: legs I and II move prolaterally, while legs III and IV moved retrolaterally. These orientations are appropriate to bring the asymmetrically placed middle claw and accessory setae into contact with the line. Spiders solved the additional problem of grasping lines that are more or less parallel to the long axis of the leg by using a previously unrecognized movement; they rotate the distal portion of the leg on its longitudinal axis, orienting the middle claw so that it is more or less perpendicular to the line. As an orb-weaver moves across her web, she probably constantly adjusts the rotation of each leg to align its middle claw perpendicular to the lines that it grasps.