Scopulae consist of microscopic hairs, known as setae, which are each covered in even smaller hairs called setules or "end feet", resulting in a large contact area.
[1] This enables spiders with scopulae to climb even sheer, smooth surfaces such as glass.
The adhesion is so great that the spider could grip using this force and support 170 times its own weight.
Possible physical mechanisms may include capillary, electrostatic, viscous, or Van der Waals force.
(Niederegger et al 2002; Betz and Kölsch, 2004)[2] Scopulae have been used in taxonomy to identify families, especially Mygalomorphae.