Mower County transcript., 1871-07-27
The Trap.DoOr Spider.

Of all the burrowing spiders none is so
admirable an excavatOr as the trap-dOor
spider of Jamaica, and none displays so
much ingenuity in the arrangement of its
burrow. Specimens of both the tunnel
and the spider are now before me, and it is
impossible to inspect them without admi-
ration. When removed from the earth
which surrounded it, the silken tube is
seen to be double, the outer portion being
thick, deeply stained of a ruddy brown,
and separated into great number of
fakes, lying loosely upon each other This
outer covering is so thich, harsh and crum.
Piled, that it Looks more like the rough
bark of tree than spiders web, and its
true nature would hardly be recognized
even by the touch. The exterior OF a
common wasp's nest bears some resem.
blance to this part of the tube. Beneath
this covering is all inner layer of a very
different character. This is uniformly
smooth to the eye, and Of silky softness
to the touch. 1t is but slightly adhercnt
in places to the outer tube, and can be
separated without any difficulty and with
out injuring the one or the other. The
texture of the interior surface is quite un-
like that of the inner or outer tube, being
nearly white, and Of a smoothness and
consistency much resembling the rough
and unsized paper on which continental
books are usually printed. 1t is curious]y
still, also, and is so formed that no one
who saw it for the first time would be
likely to guess at its real character. The
miscroscope, however, reveals its true
character at once. If the interior of the
power, say from thirty to forty diameters,
a cirhf ic Tod +1 ho
er. The surface looks like very rough
felt, covered with little prominences, and
composed Of threads twisted together
without the least apparent order. The
thre ads are very coarse in comparison to
as ii covered with size or gum
The entrance OF The tube is guarded by
the trap door, from which the spider takes
its name. This is flap of the same sub
stance as the tube, circular in shape, 50 as
to fit the orifice with perfect accuracy, and
attached to the tube by tolerably wide
hinge, 50 that when it closes it does not
fall to either side, but comes true and fair
upon the opening which it defends. The
inner surface of the trap door is white and
felt like, and exactly resembles the inte.
rior of the tube, but its outer surface is
covered with earth, taken from the soil in
which the hole is dug. AS the trap door
Is flush with the surface of the ground, it
is evident that when it is closed all traces
Of the burrOW and its inhabitant are lost
The spider is urged by curious instinct
to make its tunnel in some sloping spot,
and to keep tho hinge uppermost so that
when the inhabitant leaves its home or re-
treats to the extremity of its burrow, the
door closes of its own accord, and efectual-
ly conCeals it.
New comers into the country which the
trap-door spider inhabits, are often
surprised by seeing the ground open, u lit
tie lid lifted up, and rather formidable
spider peer about, as if to rccOnnOitre the
position before leaving its fortress. Attht
least movement on the part OF the spectator
back pops the spider, like the cuckoo ON a
clock clapping its little door after it quite
as snar,ly rs the wooden bird, and il
most cases succeeds in evading The srarcl
OF the astonished observer, the sril being
apparently unbroken, without a trace o
the curious little door that had been S,
quickly shut. The spider itself is all odd
looking creature with rather short bu
powerful legs, and Il most formidable Mli
oi tungs. Altogether, it has 80 crustaccal
an aspect that, in common with many 9th
er species, it is called by the French til,
crab spider. The length Of the specimen
now before me is about All inch and
quarter, exclusive of the legs. 1t is noe
turnal in its habits, and during the nigh
1t leaves its burrOW and hunts for prey In
sects of various kinds fall victims to thi
spider, and at the bottom of this tunnc
may be found the relics of its feast, offer
including the remains Of tolerably larc
| beetles. If, when il is within it's home. tn
! ia Is hitcos gently, the spider hasteng t
the entrance, hooks its hind legs to th