The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1881-03-31
SPIDER.SHOWERS.

Sne VIII cut on al ner na1r,
And, "if I don't take care,
Wear q wig!'
SPIDER.SHOWERS. er-r
In 18S5-if my memory be not atfault
there was Q remarkably fine annular
eclipse of the sun visible in England,
which /, then q very small boy, was,
among others, watching with some fear
and much wonder. When the obscur-
ing moon had begun to pass from the
SUMS disc. and the partial darkness was
disappearing, one of the older specta-
tors remarked: "Now. after this there
should be shower OF feathers" Why
he had such an expectation, he did not
say; but as "showers Of feathers" are
rs proverbial as showers of frogs and
fish, and may, when really understood.
hava a. much foundation in fact as the
best authenticated of these other at
mospheric wonders, 1 propose to de-
scribe . shower of feathers which it was
once my luck to witness; only the show
er was not really q shower of feathers
though the falling material closely
resembled these light bOdies-nor a
shower of snow, but q shower of gossa-
mer spiders. But first let me refer to q
few notable spider showers of the past;
also to aome Of the questionable infer
ences that have been drawn in regard
to these spiders.
All who have read Whites "History
of Selborne" will recollect his descrip-
tion of the gossamer showers which he
had observed, one of which continued
for nearly q whole day, and where the
gossamer was descending from sur
prising height; for when one gentleman
ascended hill near at hand. some three
hundred feet high, he found that the
gossamers were descending from re-
gion in the atmosphere that was still
beyond the reach of his gaze. These
goesamer showers are great mysteries.
and once seen cannot be forgotten; for
the air on these occasions becomes lit
orally crowded with tiny parachutes.
composed of few threads of almost
invisible gossamer, each of the para
chutes being occupied by Liliputian
aeronaut. in the shape of q very small
but active spider. Whence these aerial
creatures come, or whittier they 60, re-
mains so far to be discovered; but it
seems clear that somehow they have
learned the navigation of the trackless
region overhead which we call our at
mosphere. DIR. Martin Lister named
tutS 6cKlol SpiucE lu6 DkIo. tuC
facility with which it can traverse the
air; and upon one occasion, when he
observed q shower of them in York
City, he assembled to the top of the
Minister, and found that even there they
were descending, from some region
above that elevated standpoint. Mr..
Darwin, another observer of spider
showers, describes one which he saw
in 1882, when on board the Beagle, at
the mouth of the La Plata River, when
the vessel was some sixty miles from
land; and he possibly was the first to
notice that each parachute of gossamer
carried q spider aeronaut; for he no.
ticed them not only arrive on board the
ship, but he also saw them reproduce q
new parachute, and on this frail bark
launch forth again ION the bosom of
the palpitating air."
1t is q common notion, when spider
web crosses ones face in q summer
evening. that it is the web of the gossa-
mer spider; but this wants correction.
Some of these threads may be the gossa-
mer spiders work, but most of them
are the cables OF other species. Almost
all spiders leave cable behind as they
travel from point to point. or swing
themselves from branch to branch. The
common geometric spider (Epeira dia-
deDaa) generally, might almost say
invariably. leaves a thread in its track I;
and it is more frequently the threads of
this and kindred spiders which haunt
trees, hedges, etc, and SO frequently
tickle our noses in shady lanes. The
epeira too can shoot out lines with as
much facility as the gossamer spider.
One day, when holding an epeiri sus.
pended to my finger by its cable, it dis
appeared as If by magic. To discover
its modus operandi, tried another in
bright sunlight. and observed that while
it was hanging thus suspended. and per-
fectly motionless, it was shooting out
threads in various directions. These
threads fioated on. spreading out into
three or four radii, and covering about
sixty degrees, but all in a common di-
rection. At length one came in contact
with post, and adhered to it. As soon
Is the spider found that one of the ca
bles had found an anchorage, it cut the
one by which held it captive, ran up
this cable Of hope, and regained its lib
erty.
The epeira spreads its beautiful spirals
from twig to twig on the outside. Be-
meath these snares, those of the common
house-spider (Aranea domestica) may
be found, where possibly this species is
taking its summer outing; and deeper
among the branches still. another small
spider can be seen in greater numbers
than either Of these two kinds. have
not been able to identify its species.
though it is probably the same as that
which Leigh Hunt observed at play, for
have seen il play ing with its young
ones as 3 cat plays with her kittens.
The popularity of this spider is its fam
lily Of fifty or sixty young ones. which it
carefully rears. provides for and edu-
Gates. Its house, not unlike that OF the
''old lady who lived in q Shoe" may be
called gothic, and is rooted generally
with o sloping waterproof leaf of holly
or kindred evergreen. In this mansion
are lodged several score of young ones;
while from its front an irregular web
extends for several inches around. This
web is not snare which fastens, but q
maze which confuses the prey. When
a fiy falls in and is rapidly buzzing its
way through it, the spider, directed by
the vibrations of the web, rushes upon
the confused insect and paralyses its
wings and limbs by smearing them over
with q glutinous secretion. As soon as
the captive is securely manacled, the
wily spider ventures to give it the coup
de grace with its poison-fangs. While
all this is proceeding, the young family
come running out OF their domiciie 10
watch the contest; and as soon as the
fly is powerless to harm them with
blow from wings or limbs, they cluster
round its body so closely, seizing upon
k.k luts